Soriot misses 2017 sales turnaround target

Chief executive Pascal Soriot has not kept his 2014 promise that the decline in AstraZeneca’s (LSE: AZN) revenues would be reversed by now, the firm’s annual results statement shows, but if its 2018 guidance is correct he will only be a year off the mark.

The British pharma major, which has suffered severely declining sales on the back of a series of patent expirations, managed to take in $22.5 billion last year, 2% less than in 2016.

Following generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), that translates to $2.37 earnings per share (EPS), a 14% decline.