(RTTNews) - British drug major AstraZeneca (AZN.L, AZN) reported Thursday that its third-quarter profit before tax declined 14 percent to $409 million from last year's $477 million.
Profit after tax for the quarter fell 31 percent to $280 million or $0.23 per share from $406 million or $0.34 per share last year.
Core earnings per share for the quarter were $0.99.
Total revenue for the quarter grew 20 percent to $6.41 billion from $5.34 billion a year earlier. On a constant currency basis, revenues increased 22 percent.
Product sales rose 16 percent to $6.13 billion from last year's $5.27 billion.
For fiscal 2019, AstraZeneca reiterated its outlook for core earnings per share in a range of $3.50 to $3.70. Core operating profit is expected to increase ahead of product sales.
The company now expects full-year product sales on a constant currency basis to increase by a low to mid-teens percentage. The company's prior guidance was for a low double-digit percentage increase.
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