AstraZeneca (AZN.L) surpassed first-quarter sales and profit projections on Friday, aided by higher-than-expected sales of its COVID-19 vaccine, which the firm has predicted will experience a dramatic decrease this year.
In the quarter, the vaccine generated $1.15 billion in revenue, the majority of which came from original contracts, although that figure was above Credit Suisse's consensus analyst projections of $739 million.
With $3.9 billion in sales in 2021, the shot was AstraZeneca's second best-selling product.
Sales of the company's antibody-based COVID-19 treatment, Evusheld, are expected to increase this year, but that will be more than offset by a drop in sales of the vaccine developed with Oxford University, which is expected to decline this year due to increased competition and concerns about its shelf life.
The antibody therapy brought in $469 million in the first quarter, narrowly below average projections of $480 million.
In February, the business predicted that sales of its COVID-19 products would fall by a low-to-mid 20% in 2022, while total revenues would climb by a high teens percentage, with core earnings rising by a mid-to-high 20%.
According to Refinitiv IBES data, the London-listed drugmaker maintained those forecasts on Friday after reporting total revenue of $11.39 billion and core earnings of $1.89 per share for the three months ended March 31, exceeding consensus expectations of $10.85 billion and $1.70 per share, respectively.
Farxiga, an AstraZeneca diabetic and heart disease medicine, raked in $1 billion during the quarter. According to Credit Suisse, this was significantly ahead of consensus projections of $819 million.
However, the company's stock dropped 1% in early trading as sales of its top three cancer medications, Tagrisso, Imfinzi, and Lynparza, fell short of expectations. Despite the fact that COVID-19 levels are beginning to decline, cancer diagnosis and treatment are still not at pre-pandemic levels.
Meanwhile, the company's expectations for China, where it has a large presence, have been lowered. The country contributed almost 16 percent of AstraZeneca's entire sales last year.
In 2022, the Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical expects revenues in China to fall by a mid-single-digit percentage, owing in part to reductions it has negotiated to gain a spot on China's National Reimbursement Drug List (NRDL) for several medications.
COVID lockdowns were recently implemented in the nation, which experts fear would have an impact on sales in the second quarter.