AstraZeneca results show firm’s strength

AstraZeneca, which saw off a €95bn bid from Pfizer in May, said quarterly results showed its stand-alone strength, while recent US tax changes removed much of the case for a new takeover attempt.

Britain’s second biggest pharmaceutical firm raised its 2014 sales forecast for the second quarter in a row yesterday, helped by the delayed US launch of generic copies of Nexium, which kept cash flowing from the heartburn and ulcer drug.

It now expects sales to grow in low single digits at constant exchange rates this year, after previously predicting they would be flat. The upgrade follows better-than-expected revenue in the third quarter, helped by the Nexium factor.