Friday, February 07, 2014

AstraZeneca suffers more job cuts amid competition from cheaper rivals


AstraZeneca is cutting another 550 roles around the world on top of more than 5 000 previous cuts

AstraZeneca is cutting another 550 roles around the world on top of more than 5,000 previous cuts as it looks to ramp up annual savings to £675million.

It said the extra jobs cull, which it has already revealed to staff, would affect UK workers in IT teams at two sites in the Northwest.

The company is trying to save cash as patents on many of its best-selling older drugs expire, opening the way for rivals to sell cheaper versions.

The trend drove a six per cent drop in sales last year to £15.8bill ion and more than halved operating profi ts to £2.3billion.

The group also expects a fall in the low to mid-single digits for 2014 sales, withearnings also likely to take a hit.

Chief executive Pascal Soriot said the short term outlook was tough but he voiced confidence that 2017 revenue would broadly match that of 2013. 

“As expected, our financial performance for 2013 reflects the ongoing impact from the loss of exclusivity for several key brands,” he said. Shares fell 61½p to 3815½p.

Berenberg Bank analyst Alistair Campbell said: “AstraZeneca’s long-term future looks more secure, but the near-term outlook is increasingly bleak.”

http://www.express.co.uk/finance/city/458420/AstraZeneca-suffers-more-job-cuts-amid-competition-from-cheaper-rivals

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