AstraZeneca, plc has posted satisfactory growth of 17.1 per cent in net profit during the first quarter ended March 2011 to $3,051 million from $2,605 million in the corresponding period of last year. Its net sales, however, declined by 3.3 per cent to $8,292 million from $8,576 million. With improvement in profits, its earnings per share improved to $2.08 as against $1.91 in the last period.

David Brennan, chief executive officer said: "Our first quarter revenue performance reflects the anticipated generic competition in the US and Western Europe, which we partially mitigated by our continued double digit growth in emerging markets. We remain focused on driving operating performance in order to invest in the development of innovative new products while providing attractive cash returns to shareholders."

Its US sales declined by 10.7 per cent to $3,304 million from $3,698 million in the similar period of last year. Similarly, its sales in Western Europe also moved down by 9.3 per cent to $2,235 million from $2,465 million. However, its sales in Japan and Canada improved by 9 per cent and 18 per cent respectively. The company's sales in China improved smartly by 24 per cent to $322 million from $259 million.  

AstraZemeca's sales of Nexium ($1,161 million) and Losec/Prilosec ($235 million) products for gastrointestinal declined by 6 per cent respectively during the quarter under review. The sales of Crestor brand for cardiovascular treatment went up by 14 per cent to $1,478 million. However, the sales of Seroquel IR for neuroscience declined by 4 per cent to $1,006 million.