Astrazeneca revenue surges amid Chinese import tax allegations
Astrazeneca’s revenue jumped 21 per cent last year despite growing troubles over its presence in China.
The pharmaceutical giant recorded $54bn (£43.3bn) in revenue for the year, a jump of 21 per cent on 2023’s levels.
In its full-year results, the largest FTSE 100 firm revealed that revenue in Europe had skyrocketed 37 per cent. In the US, revenue expanded 28 per cent.
“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,” noted Astrazeneca CEO Pascal Soriot.
Revenue growth for the firm was broad-based across sectors. Oncology sales expanded = 24 per cent, cardiovascular, renal, and metabolic jumped 20 per cent, and respiratory and immunology sales rose 25 per cent.
Astrazeneca also noted that since its prior results, a large number of its drugs had received approval for use, including US and Japanese approval for cancer immunotherapy Imfinzi, and EU approval for coronavirus prevention drug Kavigale.
Astrazeneca and China
In the results, Astrazeneca addressed allegations of illegal drug imports it is facing in China, where it is alleged to have not paid $900,000 in importation taxes.
The firm said it was fully cooperating with the Chinese authorities. It said it believed the charges to be related to shipments of Imfinzi and Imjudo, and warned that the charges could carry a fine between one and five times the amount of unpaid taxes if found liable.
In December, the firm said it had placed international executive vice president Leon Wang on extended leave, after Chinese authorities detained him in October.
Iskra Reic has replaced Wang while under investigation in China, Astrazeneca added today.
Pharmaceutical rival GSK faced a similar scandal in 2014 and was fined around $500m by Chinese regulators over bribery allegations.
For 2025, Astrazeneca said it expected total revenue to increase by a high single-digit percentage, with core earnings per share increasing by a low double-digit percentage.
“This year marks the beginning of an unprecedented, catalyst-rich period for our company, an important step on our Ambition 2030 journey to deliver $80bn total revenue by the end of the decade,” added Soriot.
“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.”