By Cecilia Butini

AstraZeneca PLC reported first-quarter results on Friday. Here is what you need to know.

SALES: Sales came in at $7.32 billion, beating a consensus estimate of $6.98 billion provided by FactSet and rising from $6.35 billion the previous year.

PROFIT: Net profit jumped to $1.56 billion from $780 million the previous year, but came short of a consensus estimate provided by FactSet which saw the metric at $1.92 billion for the quarter.

WHAT WE WATCHED:

--VACCINES: As expected, earnings were affected by coronavirus vaccine development, with the company booking $275 million in revenue from the vaccine but losing 3 cents on per share-earnings in the quarter. The company said it would apply for U.S. authorization of the vaccine in the coming weeks. A green light in the country is still lacking and AstraZeneca had previously said it would apply for review by mid-April.

--KEY GROWTH DRIVERS: Diabetes drug Farxiga and stomach medication Nexium drove a boost in product sales, which grew 15% and beat expectations. Strength in ovarian-cancer drug Lynparza and lymphoma treatment Calquence offset consensus misses for lung-cancer drug Tagrisso and monoclonal antibody Imfinzi, says Barclays. The latter two drugs still delivered on-year growth, AstraZeneca said.

--OUTLOOK: As expected, AstraZeneca reiterated a previously given full-year outlook for total revenue increasing by a low-teens percentage, and core earnings per share rising to $5.00 from $4.00, all at constant exchange rates. The guidance doesn't incorporate revenue or profit impact from Covid-19 vaccine sales or the proposed Alexion acquisition. Analysts at Barclays forecast a 14% revenue growth at constant exchange rates for 2021.

Write to Cecilia Butini at cecilia.butini@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

04-30-21 0704ET