More on Astrazeneca
Astrazeneca Q1
Astrazeneca’s first quarter was in line with the previous year with sales up 9% at CER and EPS up 33%. Growth in the sales of Nexium roughly offset the declines in its predecessor Losec/Prilosec, as the latter continues to lose ground to generics.
Crestor, Astrazeneca’s anti-cholesterol drug, showed good sales growth over the same period the previous year, but sales were lower than the previous quarter’s. As this is Astrazeneca’s most important growth driver any sign that its high sales growth is faltering is a cause for concern - particularly given that the scope for Exanta, which was once another potential blockbuster, narrowed significantly during the year.
At the current price of 2315p Astrazeneca is rated in line with Glaxosmithkline at a prospective PE of 18× and a yield of 2.4%, however Astrazeneca does have reasonable growth to come (particularly if Crestor lives up to expectations) and it is highly cash generative with a price/free cash flow of 7×
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