(Reuters) -AstraZeneca (AZN) beat second-quarter earnings expectations on Tuesday, helped by strong sales of key cancer, heart and kidney disease drugs, but maintained its full-year forecast as pricing pressures and global trade risks remain challenges.
The company hopes to move on from scandals in China, after indicating that any impact from probes in its second-biggest market would be minor, and focus on growing its U.S. footprint and drug pipeline to reach $80 billion in annual revenue by 2030.
AstraZeneca said last week it plans to spend $50 billion to expand manufacturing and research capabilities in the United States by 2030, the latest drugmaker to ramp up investments in the country in response to President Donald Trump’s tariff threat.
The Anglo-Swedish drugmaker is counting on a wave of expected launches of 20 new medicines and its U.S. expansion to reach its $80 billion annual revenue target by the end of this decade.
AstraZeneca, the UK’s largest listed company by market value, reported revenue growth of 11% to $14.46 billion for the three-month period ended June at constant currency rates, with core earnings of $2.17 per share.
“Our strong momentum in revenue growth continued through the first half of the year and the delivery from our broad and diverse pipeline has been excellent,” CEO Pascal Soriot said in a statement.
Analysts were expecting $14.15 billion in revenue and $2.16 in earnings per share for the second quarter, according to a company-provided consensus.
(Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka and Unnamalai L in Bengaluru, and Maggie Fick in London; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
