AstraZeneca reports earnings

AstraZeneca plc (LSE:AZN; NYSE:AZN) reported 4Q12 and 2012 earnings on Thursday that beat the Street's estimates. However, the pharma said it expects revenues to continue to decline in 2013 at a mid- to high-single digit percent and removed five-year guidance that it had introduced in January 2010. At the time, the pharma said it expected revenues of $28-$34 billion annually through 2014.

Fourth quarter revenues were $7.3 billion, off 15% from $8.7 billion in 4Q11. The Street was expecting $7.17 billion in revenues for the quarter. The pharma attributed the decline to global market conditions and the loss of patent exclusivity for a number of drugs, including Seroquel quetiapine. Revenues of the schizophrenia drug, which lost exclusivity last March, fell 69% to $476 million in 4Q12 from $1.5 billion in 4Q11. The pharma reported core EPS of $1.56, beating the Street's estimate of $1.41 and up 1% from $1.61 in 4Q11. ...