Revenue for the third quarter declined by 2 percent at constant exchange rates (CER) to $8,213 million.
-Strong revenue growth for Crestor, Seroquel XR and Symbicort.
-Revenue performance reflects the loss of more than $350 million of revenue from generic competition, as well as the impact of government price interventions.
-Emerging Markets revenue increased by 7 percent at CER in the third quarter; revenue was up 10 percent for the nine months.
Core operating profit in the third quarter was $3,177 million, down 2 percent at CER, in line with the decline in revenue.
-Core operating margin of 38.7 percent of revenue was down 0.3 percentage points at CER, as increased investment in Research and Development was largely offset by higher gross margin and lower SG&A expense as a percentage of revenue.
Core EPS in the third quarter was up 12 percent at CER to $1.71.
-Core EPS benefited from the lower number of shares outstanding resulting from net share repurchases and a lower tax rate compared with the third quarter last year.
Reported EPS in the third quarter was up 140 percent at CER to $2.56.
-Gain on the sale of Astra Tech, which was excluded from Core EPS, amounted to $1.08 in the third quarter 2011. Third quarter 2010 included legal provisions of $0.24, which also benefited the growth rate for Reported EPS in the third quarter 2011.
Net cash distributions to shareholders for the nine months increased by 64 percent to $7,642 million.
Core EPS target for the full year increased to the range of $7.20 to $7.40, largely on currency movements.
