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AstraZeneca has reported a jump in annual profits boosted by strong sales of its cancer, lung and immunology treatments, a week after it decided not to go ahead with a planned £450m investment in Merseyside, prompting a series of recriminations with the government.
Britain’s biggest drugmaker, which is also the largest listed company, said revenues rose by 21% to $54.1bn (£43bn) in 2024. Pre-tax profit jumped by 38% to $8.7bn last year on a constant currency basis.
The results statement did not mention last week’s decision to pull the plug on the expansion of its childhood flu vaccine factory at Speke, Liverpool, into a large vaccine hub, after it failed to agree the amount of state support despite months of wrangling with government.
The previous Conservative government had pledged £90m in grants and other aid, but this was cut after Labour came to power. Chris Bryant, the science minister, told MPs this week the difference between the two offers was “remarkably small”, adding that AstraZeneca’s U-turn was “deeply disappointing”.
On Thursday, AstraZeneca said cancer and respiratory and immunology treatments were the fastest-growing areas last year, with 24% and 25% annual rises in revenues, respectively. The firm forecasts total sales growth will slow this year, to a high single-digit percentage.
The drugmaker stuck to its $80bn revenue goal by 2031, with late-stage results for seven new medicines expected this year.
The pharmaceutical has also been hit by a crisis in China, where the president of its Chinese business and other senior executives were detained over allegations of illegally importing cancer medicines. The AstraZeneca share price fell sharply after the news broke in October, reducing the firm’s market value from a peak of more than £200bn in mid-August to about £170bn.
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On Thursday, the company said the case involved suspected unpaid importation taxes of $900,000, which could lead to a fine of between one and five times that amount if AstraZeneca was found liable.
