AstraZeneca's third-quarter results showed sales 17 per cent lower at $20.6bn (£13bn) and reported profits 50 per cent down at $5.86bn. This was mainly due to the disposal of the Astra Tech medical technology division and the erosion of patents on key drugs. Though sales of blockbuster statin Crestor in the US up 3 per cent to $2.3bn.
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Beyond cutting the dividend buy-back programme and expanding a co-operation agreement with Bristol-Myers Squibb in diabetes research, there was no detail on how new chief executive Pascal Soriot plans to rejuvenate the pharmaceuticals giant. Cost-cutting is still the theme and Astra took a $1.16bn charge in the third quarter to cover restructuring.