Credit: REUTERS/© Phil Noble / ReutersOct 24 (Reuters) - AstraZeneca Plc AZN.L reported better-than-expected third-quarter product sales on Thursday, on the back of strong demand for newer medicines including cancer treatments Tagrisso and Lynparza as well as growth in China.
Product sales for the three months ended Sept. 30 rose 18% to $6.13 billion on a constant-currency basis, the company's fifth consecutive quarter of growth after years of sliding sales due to patent losses on older medicines.
The company reported core earnings of 99 cents per share, above analysts' average expectation of 96 cents per share.
Analysts on average had forecast product sales of $5.86 billion, according to a company provided consensus of 23 analysts.
(Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru; editing by Patrick Graham)
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