AstraZeneca tops forecasts on strong drug sales, outlook unchanged

(Reuters) – Drugmaker AstraZeneca topped second-quarter sales and profit expectations on Thursday and stood by its 2020 forecasts, helped by strong sales in lockdowns of a diverse line-up, which now includes a potential coronavirus vaccine.

Product sales, which exclude payments from tie-ups, rose 9% to $6.05 billion in the three months ended June 30 on a constant-currency basis, surpassing analysts’ consensus of $6.01 billion.

Core earnings stood at 96 cents per share versus analysts’ estimate of 93 cents. Total revenue rose 11%, AstraZeneca said.

(Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka, Ankur Banerjee in Bengaluru and Ludwig Burger in Frankfurt; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)