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Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca swung to a third-quarter loss as higher costs dented margins and offset a surge in revenue.
For the three months ended 30 September, pre-tax losses were £2.0 billion from a profit of £853 million a year earlier, while revenue jumped 50% to $9.87 billion.
Gross profit margin fell to 18% to 61.4%.
'Operating expenses in the quarter reflected the addition of Alexion, as well increased R&D expenses across multiple programs, investment in our COVID-19 medicines, and increased SG&A from pre-launch activities following successful pipeline delivery,' the company said.
Looking ahead, revenue excluding the COVID-19 vaccine was expected to grow by a low-twenties percentage, in line with prior guidance.
Including vaccine revenues in Q4 2021, revenue was expected to grow by a mid-to-high twenties percentage.
Core EPS was expected to be in range of $5.05 to $5.40, in line with prior guidance.