AstraZeneca PLC on Thursday ended a strong year with better-than-expected fourth quarter earnings and said its pipeline would support further growth in 2025.

The Cambridge-based pharmaceuticals firm said revenue in 2024 rose 18% to $54.07 billion from $45.81 billion in 2023. It helped pretax profit surge 26% to $8.69 billion from $6.90 billion. At constant exchange rates, total revenue rose 21%. Reported earnings per share rose 18% to $4.54 from $3.84 and core EPS by 13% to $8.21 from $7.26.

‘Our company delivered a very strong performance in 2024 with total revenue and core EPS up 21% and 19% respectively. We also delivered nine positive high value phase III studies in the year, which coupled with increasing demand for our medicines in all key regions, will help sustain our growth momentum into 2025,’ Chief Executive Officer Pascal Soriot commented.

In the fourth quarter, revenue rose 24% to $14.89 billion from $12.02 billion and pretax profit near doubled to $1.67 billion from £897 million. EPS increased 56% to $0.97 from $0.62, with core EPS up 44% to $2.09 from $1.45.

Shore Capital analyst Sean Conroy said fourth-quarter revenue was 5% ahead of consensus and core EPS 1% above forecast.

In response, shares in AstraZeneca rose 5.1% to 11,692.00 pence each in London on Thursday morning. The wider FTSE 100 index was up 0.9%.

Oncology sales rose 27% in the quarter to $6.34 billion, 4% ahead of consensus, with Tagrisso up 20%, Calquence up 20% and Enhertu up 48%.

Cardiovascular, renal and metabolism sales rose 16% to $3.14 billion, with Farxiga up 21% and Lokelma up 35%.

Respiratory & Immunology sales rose 27% to $2.13 billion, Vaccines and Immune sales rose 58% to $651 million and Rare Diseases sales rose 21% to $2.38 billion.

By region, US sales increased 28 to $6.53 billion and Europe sales rose 37% to $3.95 billion. Emerging Markets sales rose 13% to $3.13 billion, including a 1% drop in China to $1.36 billion.

For 2025, AstraZeneca expects revenue growth to ease to a high single-digit percentage at constant currency. It added: ‘If foreign exchange rates for February 2025 to December 2025 were to remain at the average rates seen in January 2025, it is anticipated that total revenue in FY 2025 would incur a low single-digit percentage adverse impact compared to the performance at CER.’

The FTSE 100 listing declared a second interim dividend of $2.10 per share, a rise of around 6.6% from $1.97 a year prior. It makes for an annual dividend of $3.10 per share, up 6.9% from $2.90. The payout is to be further increased this year, with a dividend of $3.20 expected.

Astra also expects to up capital expenditure by some 50%, ‘driven by manufacturing expansion projects and investment in IT systems’.

CEO Soriot added: ‘This year marks the beginning of an unprecedented, catalyst-rich period for our company, an important step on our Ambition 2030 journey to deliver $80 billion total revenue by the end of the decade. In 2025 alone, we anticipate the first phase III data for seven new medicines, along with several important new indication opportunities for our existing medicines.’

AstraZeneca also said it received a notice about suspended unpaid import taxes in China in January for $900,000.

AstraZeneca believes these taxes relate to its cancer drugs Imfinzi and Imjudo.

A fine of between one and five times the amount of unpaid importation taxes may also be levied if AstraZeneca is found liable,‘ it said. ’AstraZeneca continues to fully cooperate with the Chinese authorities.‘

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