Tag: growth

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Business

IMF raises Center East development forecast, restoration will likely be ‘divergent’

IMF raises Middle East growth forecast, recovery will be 'divergent'

The International Monetary Fund has revised its growth forecast for the Middle East and North Africa region upwards as the countries recover from the coronavirus crisis that began in 2020.

Real GDP in the MENA region is now projected to grow 4% in 2021, compared to the fund’s October forecast of 3.2%.

However, the outlook will vary significantly from country to country depending on factors such as vaccine adoption, exposure to tourism, and policies in place, the IMF said in its latest regional economic report released on Sunday.

Vaccine is an important variable this year, and speeding up vaccination could add almost an additional percent of GDP in 2022.

Jihad Azour

Director of the IMF for the Middle East and Central Asia

Jihad Azour, director of the IMF’s Middle East and Central Asia division, said the recovery was “different between countries and uneven between different segments of the population”.

He told CNBC’s Hadley Gamble that growth will be mainly driven by oil exporting countries, which will benefit from the acceleration in vaccination programs and the relative strength of oil prices.

Vaccines an “important variable”

Azour said each country’s ability to recover in 2021 will be “very different”.

“Vaccine is an important variable this year, and accelerating vaccination could add almost an additional percent of GDP in 2022,” he said.

Some countries in the region – such as the Gulf Cooperation Council states, Kazakhstan and Morocco – started their vaccinations early and should be able to vaccinate a significant portion of their population by the end of 2021, the IMF said.

Other nations, including Afghanistan, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon, have been classified as “slow vaccines” that are likely to vaccinate a large proportion of their residents by mid-2022.

Shoppers in protective masks walk near the Dubai Mall and the Burj Khalifa skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on Wednesday, January 27, 2021.

Christopher Pike | Bloomberg | Getty Images

The last group – the “late vaccinators” – are not expected to “achieve full vaccination until 2023 at the earliest,” the report said.

It added that early vaccines are expected to hit 2019 GDP levels in 2022, but countries in the two slower categories will recover to pre-pandemic levels between 2022 and 2023.

looking ahead

Azour said innovative guidelines have helped speed the recovery, but it is “very important to do better”.

This could include measures to improve the economy, attract investment, strengthen regional cooperation and tackle the scars of the Covid crisis.

“All of these elements are silver linings that can help accelerate the recovery and bring the region’s economy to levels of growth that existed before the Covid-19 shock,” he said.

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Health

Goldman Sachs downgrades India’s progress forecast as Covid instances spike

South Asia faces a wake up call as it trails in global gender equality

NOIDA, INDIA – APRIL 11: A woman holds a pot at a food distribution by Noida Authority in Morna Village in Sector 35 on the eighteenth day of the 21 day coronavirus limit lockdown on April 11, 2020 in Noida, India. (Photo by Virendra Singh Gosain / Hindustan Times via Getty Images)

Hindustan Times | Hindustan Times | Getty Images

A second wave of Covid-19 infections is likely to slow India’s economic recovery in the three months between April and June, according to Goldman Sachs.

The investment bank cut India’s growth forecast for the quarter from 33.4% yoy to 31.3% on Tuesday. Lower consumption and service activity was cited, likely due to the increasing social restrictions put in place by India’s Indian and federal governments to combat the new outbreak.

Goldman expects gross domestic product (GDP) to shrink sequentially by 12.2% year-on-year in the three months to June. This is the first quarter of India’s fiscal year, which started on April 1 and ends on March 31, 2022. Last year, India fell into a technical recession after two consecutive quarters of contraction.

“Given that virus cases hit a new high of over 100,000 / day over the weekend and a number of states, including Maharashtra, are announcing stricter lockdown restrictions that are expected to widen in the coming weeks, we expect slower GDP growth second quarter than previously originally expected, “wrote Goldman analysts.

Record highs

Cases in India have risen since mid-February, with Maharashtra state – home of India’s financial capital Mumbai – being hit particularly hard. On Monday, India reported more than 103,000 new cases over a 24-hour period, beating September levels when the first wave of infections peaked.

On Tuesday, the South Asian nation reported 96,982 new cases, much of them in eight states, including Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka.

Maharashtra authorities tightened restrictions, including imposing curfews at night if only essential services remain open, as concerns grow over a possible shortage of hospital beds and doctors. Other states are also preventively increasing restrictions to slow the spread of the virus.

On the other hand, India has also stepped up its vaccination efforts. According to government data, the country has administered more than 84 million doses since Tuesday, since it launched its mass vaccination program in January.

Some analysts and investors have said the impact of the recent surge is likely to be limited in cases if India can avoid a strict national lockdown like last year.

Sharp upswing in the following quarters

Goldman expects activity to rebound strongly in the following quarters – July through September and beyond – as Indian containment policies normalize and the pace of vaccination accelerates. Still, the success of the April-June quarter is likely to affect India’s overall fiscal year growth forecast, which Goldman now expects to be 11.7%, compared to an earlier forecast of 12.3%.

However, the investment bank warned that the uncertainties surrounding its estimates remain high and the actual impact could be greater or lesser depending on how strict India’s containment policy is and whether it affects sectors such as construction and manufacturing.

The impact on GDP can potentially be cushioned by more targeted, localized restrictions on trouble spots, as opposed to a broad national lockdown like the one India put in place last year, which Goldman said had a significant socio-economic impact.

“Measures were also more targeted and targeted at service sectors such as leisure, leisure and transport, with no or little or no impact on agriculture, manufacturing, construction and utilities,” the analysts said, adding that the bank’s analysis suggested they get used to it more to a post-covid environment with a shift towards e-commerce and working from home Hence, their response to states’ containment policies is likely to be less sensitive.

Goldman also expects the Reserve Bank of India to keep its policy rate at 4% and maintain its accommodative stance and an ample liquidity environment for longer than expected.

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World News

GDP development goal over 6% is straightforward to succeed in, analysts say

GDP growth target over 6% is easy to reach, analysts say

China’s target of more than 6% growth for 2021 isn’t very telling as it’s easy to achieve – but that’s not necessarily a bad thing, analysts told CNBC this week.

“It’s almost the same as having no growth target there because it’s so easy to get to,” said Michael Hirson, head of the Eurasia Group for China and Northeast Asia.

Simon Baptist, chief economist at the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), echoed the same sentiment.

“It will be easy to get to,” he told CNBC’s Street Signs Asia on Thursday. “It’s kind of a goal that you have when you don’t really want a goal.”

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang announced last week that the country is targeting economic expansion of more than 6% this year. He spoke at the opening ceremony of the National People’s Congress in China.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday evening, at the end of the annual parliamentary session, Li said China’s target is not low. The 2021 target should be the same as 2022 to avoid large swings, he said.

“By setting the GDP growth target above 6%, we have left options open, which means that there may be even faster growth in actual delivery,” said the Prime Minister.

The EIU predicts China’s growth will be 8.5% this year, more than 2 percentage points higher than the official target, Baptist said.

Focus on quality

To be clear, having an easy-to-achieve goal isn’t pointless, analysts said.

Eurasia’s Hirson said this was in line with China’s desire to put quality over quantity.

“It brings a message home to local authorities and the rest of the system: don’t strive for growth goals, focus on the quality of growth, and I think that’s spot on,” he told CNBC’s Street on Thursday Signs Asia “.

Additionally, he noted that the country’s five-year plan does not have an average growth target, showing “persistent de-emphasis on reaching rigid” numbers.

Baptist from the EIU said previous growth targets have historically created “dangerous imbalances in the Chinese economy”, including debt accumulation, as the country pushed certain sectors to meet these “very ambitious goals”.

However, with the number low for 2021, these issues are unlikely to be fueled any further, he added.

“Indeed, the fact that it is so far below what China is likely to achieve only at a gallop shows that China’s economic policy will be a little tight and that fiscal and monetary support will decline,” he said.

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Business

U.S. Progress Might Double in 2021, Bolstered by Vaccine and Stimulus

U.S. Growth Could Double in 2021, Bolstered by Vaccine and Stimulus

The American economy is set to accelerate nearly twice as fast this year as expected as President Biden’s imminent $ 1.9 trillion stimulus package, coupled with a swift introduction of vaccines, sparks a strong rebound from the pandemic the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development announced on Tuesday.

However, countries stumbling at the pace of their vaccination campaigns, especially those in Europe, are at risk of falling behind in global recovery as governments are not forced to push back the spread of the virus in order to return to normal lives, the said Organization.

In its half-year outlook, the organization said the United States would expand 6.5 percent this year, a sharp increase from the 3.2 percent forecast in December. The upswing in the world’s largest economy will generate enough momentum to increase global production by 5.6 percent from 3.4 percent in 2020.

China, which contained the virus earlier than other countries, remains a big global winner with forecast growth of 7.8 percent.

Although a global recovery is in sight, government spending to boost their economies will have limited impact unless authorities accelerate national vaccine rollouts and ease virus containment measures, the report added. When vaccination programs aren’t fast enough to reduce infection rates, or when new varieties become more prevalent and vaccine changes are required, consumer spending and business confidence will be hurt.

“Vaccine-free stimuli are not as effective because consumers don’t do normal things,” said Laurence Boone, chief economist at the OECD, in an online press conference. “It’s the combination of health and financial policy that matters.”

This is particularly true in Europe, and particularly Germany and France, where a mix of poor public health management and slow vaccination programs is weighing on the recovery despite billions in government support. Such spending “will not be fully effective until the economy reopens,” said Ms. Boone.

The euro area economy is expected to grow 3.9 percent this year, slightly more than forecast in December, but more slowly than the US. In the UK, which accelerated a national vaccination rollout late last year, economic growth is expected to be 5.1 percent, compared with a forecast of 4.2 percent.

India’s economy is expected to grow 12.6 percent after falling 7.4 percent in 2020, the organization added.

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Business

All-female management group guides Uncle Nearest whiskey to historic development

All-female leadership team guides Uncle Nearest whiskey to historic growth

Onkel Nearest Premium Whiskey, a brand that recognizes the world’s first known African-American distiller, and his all-female management team smash stereotypes and break glass ceilings.

Executive director and founder Fawn Weaver said she attributes her company’s success not only to building a workforce that reflects America, but also to inviting all consumers to her table.

“I think we did something that hadn’t been tried before, which is to listen to what we are doing is good enough for everyone and we want to bring everyone to the table … and we saw it I think that is a huge success, “said Weaver, the first African American to run a major liquor brand.

Nathan Green, known to family and friends as “Uncle Nearest,” was a retired Tennessee slave who taught Jack Daniel how to make whiskey and is considered Daniel’s first master distiller, mentor, and teacher.

Weaver made his debut at Onkel Nearest Premium Whiskey in July 2017 and in less than two years the company expanded to all 50 states and 12 countries. According to IWSR Drinks Market Analysis, Onkel Nearest was one of the top five fastest growing U.S. whiskeys in the country by volume growth between 2018 and 2019.

“At the end of 2020, we celebrated our ninth consecutive quarter with triple-digit growth and are on the verge of exceeding that mark again for this quarter, making it our 10th quarter in a row,” said Weaver.

Katharine Jerkens, senior vice president of global sales at Onkel Nearest, told CNBC, “Based on our data, we see that Onkel Nearest’s customer is approximately 50% women. … When we launched Uncle Nearest was the average whiskey / Overall, about 30% of the Bourbon drinkers were women. “

In a Monday night interview on The News with Shepard Smith, Weaver said she was optimistic that the 50% figure would continue to rise.

“We’re happy to see that number, and that number wasn’t nearly that high to begin with. We’ve seen it go up over the past three or four years and I can’t wait for that number to keep going up.” said Weaver said.

One of Green’s descendants also shapes the company. Green’s great-great-granddaughter Victoria Eady Butler is the brand’s master blender and the first female African-American master blender in history. She is also the first black woman to be named Master Blender of the Year by Whiskey Magazine’s whiskey icons.

“To carry on the legacy my great-great-grandfather started … it feels like coming home,” said Eady Butler. “It is the most wonderful responsibility and honor that you can imagine.”

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Business

China Units Financial Progress Goal of ‘Over 6 P.c’ This 12 months

China Sets Economic Growth Target of ‘Over 6 Percent’ This Year

BEIJING – A year after China was hit by the coronavirus, the government on Friday promised a robust return to economic growth of “over 6 percent,” a signal that China is ready to do whatever it takes to keep the world’s second largest economy going strong.

The commitment is a positive sign for the global economy. It suggests that Beijing is ready to free up money to keep the economy going rather than slowing down to cope with the ever-increasing debt. That means the Chinese economy will continue to buy much of what the world makes, including iron ore and computer chips.

China’s growth target is for the virus to have all but stopped within its borders and for the number of cases in countries like the US and India to have fallen sharply in recent weeks.

China’s goal for this year could easily be achieved. It is well below what many Western economists expect from the Chinese economy. They forecast around 8 percent growth as industrial goods exports continue to boom while the services sector recovers from a very poor performance last year.

China’s Prime Minister Li Keqiang announced the target when he presented a report on the work of the government to the legislature, the National People’s Congress, at the beginning of its weeklong annual meeting.

“As the coronavirus continues to spread around the world, instability and uncertainty in the international landscape increase and the global economy continues to face major challenges,” Li said.

“Domestically, there are still weak links in our work to control Covid-19,” he added. “The foundation for our country’s economic recovery needs to be further consolidated, the barriers to consumer spending remain and investment growth is unsustainable.”

The forecast shows that China expects a remarkable rebound after last year when the government abandoned setting an annual growth target for the first time in decades due to the uncertainties of the pandemic. Ultimately, China posted 2.3 percent growth in 2020, much slower than its usual 6 percent or more pace in recent years, but by far the best performance of any major economy.

However, China’s growth last year was even more unbalanced than usual. The country was actually losing ground in its goal of moving away from its reliance on exports and debt-driven infrastructure investments and relying more sustainably on domestic consumption. As in most countries during the pandemic, travel and leisure spending in China fell over the past year.

Mr. Li promised on Friday that he would intensify efforts to increase consumption. “By focusing on improving people’s wellbeing, we will increase demand and promote better matching between consumption and investment,” he said.

He promised to cut taxes on the smallest businesses, many of which are tiny businesses in towns and villages. However, infrastructure spending will continue very quickly. Mr. Li only announced a token cut – 2.7 percent – on the issue of special purpose bonds this year, which are mainly used to finance infrastructure projects and have almost tripled in the last two years.

While China has sought to stabilize ties with the United States, Mr. Li signaled that Beijing is taking a tougher line on Hong Kong and Taiwan – two potential hot spots with Washington.

“We will resolutely protect ourselves against and deter external interference in Hong Kong affairs,” said Li.

Congress stands ready to deepen China’s crackdown on Hong Kong, building on a national security law Beijing imposed on the city last year. This year delegates will approve a proposal that would drastically reduce democratic competition in local elections in the former British colony.

The Chinese government has also taken an increasingly tough line on Taiwan – the democratically ruled island that Beijing claims as its territory – and Mr. Li’s language appeared to be harsher than in previous labor reports. Taiwan’s current president, Tsai Ing-wen, has resisted Beijing’s demands to accept the mainland’s definition of island status.

“We will continue to be very vigilant and resolutely deter any separatist activity that seeks Taiwan independence,” said Li.

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Business

Etsy CEO Josh Silverman on the corporate’s post-Covid development

Etsy CEO Josh Silverman on the company's post-Covid growth

Josh Silverman, Etsy CEO, told CNBC on Friday that no one knows what will happen to the coronavirus pandemic this year, but he hopes the company will “outperform e-commerce as a whole”.

“Neither of us have a crystal ball,” Silverman said on Squawk Box, the day after the online market posted much better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings and sales.

Etsy was a big beneficiary of the stay-at-home economy during Covid.

“If I look at 2020, e-commerce has grown at a crazy rate. E-commerce has grown over 40% year-over-year, and yet Etsy has grown 2.5 times the e-commerce rate” , he said.

“I don’t know what ecommerce will do in 2021,” he admitted, but added, “I hope and believe that Etsy can continue to outperform ecommerce overall.”

Etsy revenue for full year 2020 was $ 1.73 billion, up 111% year over year, while net income increased 264% to $ 349 million. Gross merchandise sales in the company’s marketplace – known for its independent artisans who sell a range of products – rose to $ 10.28 billion last year. That’s an increase of $ 4.97 billion in 2019.

The company declined to issue full-year projections due to the pandemic and instead offered them quarterly. For the current first quarter, Etsy expects sales between 513 and 536 million US dollars, which is significantly better than the 383 million US dollars expected by Wall Street.

In a conference call following the profit on Thursday, Silverman told analysts that Etsy had met its 2023 business goals three years ahead of schedule after the pandemic accelerated online shopping adoption and demand for essentially new product categories in its market like Face masks.

Silverman told CNBC that when looking at Etsy’s position after Covid, he saw two competing forces. On the positive side, millions of people who typically shopped in brick and mortar stores prior to the pandemic have started buying goods online. On the flip side, he said retail will make up a smaller portion of consumer spending as a full economic reopening occurs and more people eat and travel in restaurants again.

“What I don’t know – and what I don’t know that any of us know – is what will happen to overall consumer spending as restrictions wear off,” said Silverman. “What I do know is that if you look long-term, if you look to 2022 and 2023 and beyond, e-commerce just keeps getting bigger and I think we’re getting bigger and bigger.”

Etsy stocks rose 9% just after Friday open. The company’s shares are up nearly 300% in the past 12 months.

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Business

Coca-Cola Zero Sugar would be the firm’s greatest supply of progress in 2021, CEO says

Coca-Cola Zero Sugar will be the company's biggest source of growth in 2021, CEO says

The biggest source of growth for Coca-Cola over the next few years is likely to be the company’s sugar-free version of the company’s soda of the same name.

“In fact, Coke Zero Sugar will be the best growth driver in ’21 and likely for the few years to come,” said James Quincey, CEO of Coke, in an interview that aired on CNBC’s “Closing Bell” Friday.

The drink was launched nationwide in 2017 as an updated version of Coke Zero, which was 12 years old at the time. Coke Zero Sugar was designed to be more similar to traditional Coke soda, but still appeal to health-conscious consumers by omitting the sugar. And the product has paid off for the company, fueling sales growth even during the coronavirus pandemic.

“Coke Zero grew through Covid in 2020 and is the biggest growth driver for the company in absolute terms,” ​​Quincey told CNBC’s Sara Eisen.

Quincey pointed out Coke’s Topo Chico Hard Seltzer and AHA Sparkling Water as new products that did well in the early days of their launch.

Other beverage launches like Coke Energy have been challenged by the current crisis. Executives told analysts on Feb.10 that they would double Coke Energy this year after lockdowns impacted its first launch earlier last year.

Coke’s stock is down 16% over the past 12 months, bringing it to a market value of $ 215 billion.

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Health

Why Walmart is trying to past retail for future progress

Why Walmart is looking to beyond retail for future growth

A woman wearing a face mask walks past a sign informing customers that face coverings are required outside a Walmart store in Washington, DC on July 15, 2020.

Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images

Walmart wants to unlock what it sees as its greatest asset: its reach.

160 million customers visit the store or website every month. The company doesn’t just want to sell groceries, clothing and other items. The company wants to look for new business opportunities, from increasing its ad sales to becoming a major healthcare provider. With the strategy, Walmart acknowledges a difficult reality: retail may not be enough to propel its future.

On Thursday, on a virtual investor day, executives at the retail giant spoke and outlined a plan to keep momentum as some pandemic tailwinds ease and online sales spike.

Doug McMillon, CEO of Walmart, said the discounter will bring together various services customers want, from issuing a credit or debit card to dropping groceries on their doorstep. It will also increase investments to meet customers’ changing shopping habits, such as: Take automation, for example, which helps keep pace with the high volume of roadside pick-up orders.

“We feel encouraged and are now moving faster and more aggressively,” he said. “We are scaling new functions and companies and designing them in such a way that they are mutually reinforcing.”

A new playbook

With the move, the big box retailer is taking a side from retailers like Apple and Amazon who have built an ecosystem of products and services to deepen loyalty and attract more customer wallets. Amazon Web Services was the profit engine of its parent company, helping the e-commerce giant offset the challenging economics of selling items that it has to pick, pack, and ship.

It’s a different Amazon strategy too. This fall, Walmart + was launched, a subscription-based service with benefits such as free shipping and unlimited home grocery deliveries. The service costs $ 98 per year or $ 12.95 per month.

However, Walmart is skeptical when it unveils the new game book. Despite a robust Christmas season and a surge in sales due to economic reviews, it fell short of earnings estimates for the fourth quarter. The results and the forecast of sales reductions in the coming year led to a sell-off. Shares fell more than 5% on Thursday lunchtime. During the fiscal year, Walmart increased its sales by $ 35 billion, but higher sales alone don’t mean higher profits.

Large investments are required to remain competitive. Walmart plans to spend around $ 14 billion in the coming year to improve the supply chain and improve automation, said the company’s CFO Brett Biggs. That’s higher than the typical rate of $ 10 to 11 billion, he said. These improvements are likely to make online sales more efficient and profitable.

Still, McMillon sees an opportunity for Walmart to capitalize on its assets – including its 4,700+ US locations. For example, the company can turn TV and cash register screens in stores into advertising opportunities, use its large parking lots to support health clinics opened in parts of the country, and promote online merchandise through the TikTok live streaming event.

“This is the right time to make these investments,” he said. “The strategy, the team and the skills are there. We know where the customer is going. We have momentum and our balance sheet is strong.”

Stay a few steps ahead

Walmart recently rebranded its advertising business, telling CNBC it plans to grow that business more than ten-fold over the next five years. It has opened 20 clinics with cheaper medical services like annual doctor’s offices, dental checkups, and therapy appointments – with plans for more. With the investment company Ribbit Capital, a fintech start-up is launched to offer its customers and employees unique, affordable financial products.

McMillon said the company needs to be a few steps ahead, especially given the rapid pace of change in retail. The pandemic has profoundly changed the way some customers shop by quickly relaying many of the customer trends that Walmart was prepared for, according to McMillion.

“People will continue to want to shop in compelling stores in the future, but there will be more and more instances where they will prefer to pick up an order or have it delivered,” he said.

“Some customers will at some point allow and pay us to replenish them in their homes with the items they routinely buy,” he said. “For an increasing number of customers, Walmart is seen more as a service. Customers will see us as the dealer who fulfills their wants and needs, but in a way that takes less time and effort.”

That is why it is investing in converting its stores into mini-warehouses, which use robots and staff to quickly complete online orders for delivery or roadside collection. This, in turn, will help attract more members to Walmart’s subscription service Walmart +, as home delivery is a major reason customers sign up, he said.

McMillon added that Walmart is letting go of some areas while investing in others. He said it will continue to segregate markets and companies, which will allow it to focus on areas with greater growth potential.

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Health

AstraZeneca says gross sales rose 10% in 2020, sees income progress forward

AstraZeneca says sales rose 10% in 2020, sees revenue growth ahead

A box of vials with the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine is pictured on February 6, 2021 at Foch Hospital in Suresnes at the start of a vaccination campaign for health workers with the AstraZeneca / Oxford vaccine.

Alain Jocard | AFP | Getty Images

AstraZeneca announced on Thursday that product sales increased 10% in 2020. This year, the drug maker attracted attention for its work on developing a coronavirus vaccine.

The Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical company reported total product sales of $ 25.8 billion for the year. In the fourth quarter, sales rose 12% to just over $ 7 billion. The company said it was the first time in “many years” that quarterly product sales were this strong. Total revenue for the year was $ 26.6 billion and the fourth quarter was $ 7.4 billion.

CEO Pascal Soriot said last year’s performance was “a significant step forward for AstraZeneca. Despite the significant impact of the pandemic, we achieved double-digit sales growth.”

“The consistent successes in the pipeline, the accelerated performance of our business and the advancement of the COVID-19 vaccine have shown what we can achieve,” he added in a statement.

The company also kept its dividend unchanged for the full year at $ 2.80 per share.

AstraZeneca’s report comes as the UK, European Union and other countries rely heavily on the Covid vaccine in an attempt to end the public health crisis.

The company has announced that it will provide no-profit access to its vaccine for the “duration of the pandemic”, although the timing is uncertain. It is also committed to making the vaccine available on a permanent basis to nonprofits in low and middle income countries. Therefore, the current result did not include vaccine sales.

AstraZeneca, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange, expects sales to grow by a “low-teens percentage” in 2021. The company also forecast “core earnings” per share of between $ 4.75 and $ 5. The guidelines do not include any revenue or profit impact from the sale of the Covid vaccine, AstraZeneca said. The company intends to separate these sales as of the next quarter.

The company’s shares listed in London and the United States changed little on Thursday.

Some controversy

AstraZeneca’s vaccine, developed with Oxford University, was hailed as a game changer along with candidates from other pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.

Although clinical studies have shown the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to be less effective than its competitors, the fact that it is cheaper and easier to store and transport has proven to be a boon to countries like the UK where it is in January was introduced. The swift introduction of vaccines is seen as critical to reopening economies that have been badly damaged by lockdowns and job losses.

The company has gotten some controversy over its vaccine.

Some drug regulators in Europe have stated that they will not recommend the vaccine for people over 65 – the target age group as the introduction wins steam – because there are supposedly no data to show its effectiveness in this age group.

In addition, South Africa suspended and then abandoned the use of the vaccine because of concerns that it would have limited effectiveness against a variant of the virus found there.

Independent experts advising the World Health Organization on vaccination recommended using AstraZeneca’s vaccine on Wednesday, even in countries where variants exist.

During the test, late-stage clinical trial results highlighting a higher rate of effectiveness after a dosing error highlighted eyebrows among experts, as well as questions about the results and the recommended dosing regimen (like most coronavirus vaccines currently in use) a two-dose shot).

AstraZeneca also got into hot water with the EU when the company said it wouldn’t be shipping as many vaccines to the block as expected in the spring, and blamed teething problems at its manufacturing facilities in Belgium and the Netherlands.