Directors’ Report
The following sections comprise the Directors’ Report which has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006:
Inclusion of Reported performance, Core financial measures and constant exchange rate growth rates
In Overview and throughout the Business Review the following measures are referred to:
- Reported performance. Reported performance takes into account all the factors (including those which we cannot influence, principally currency exchange rates) that have affected the results of our business as reflected in our Group Financial Statements prepared in accordance with IFRS as adopted by the EU and as issued by the IASB.
- Core financial measures. These are non-GAAP measures because unlike Reported performance they cannot be derived directly from the information in the Group’s Financial Statements. These measures are adjusted to exclude certain significant items, such as charges and provisions related to our global restructuring programmes, amortisation and impairment of the significant intangibles relating to the acquisition of MedImmune in 2007, the amortisation and impairment of the significant intangibles relating to our current and future exit arrangements with Merck in the US, and other specified items. See the 2010 Reconciliation of Reported results to Core results table for a reconciliation of Reported to Core performance.
- Constant exchange rate (CER) growth rates. These are also non-GAAP measures. These measures remove the effects of currency movements (by retranslating the current year’s performance at previous year’s exchange rates and adjusting for other exchange effects, including hedging). A reconciliation of Reported results adjusted for the impact of currency movements is provided in the 2010 Reported operating profit table.
Throughout this Annual Report, growth rates are expressed at CER unless otherwise stated. AstraZeneca’s determination of non-GAAP measures together with our presentation of them within our financial information may differ from similarly titled non-GAAP measures of other companies.
Statements of competitive position, growth rates and
sales
In this Annual Report, except as otherwise stated, market information regarding the position of our business or products relative to its or their competition is based upon published statistical sales data for the 12 months ended 30 September 2010 obtained from IMS Health, a leading supplier of statistical data to the pharmaceutical industry. For the US, dispensed new or total prescription data are taken, respectively, from the IMS Health National Prescription Audit and IMS National Sales Perspectives for the 12 months ended 31 December 2010; such data is not adjusted for Medicaid and similar state rebates. Except as otherwise stated, these market share and industry data from IMS Health have been derived by comparing our sales revenue to competitors' and total market sales revenues for that period. Except
as otherwise stated, growth rates and sales are given at CER. For the purposes of this Annual Report, unless otherwise stated, references to the world pharmaceutical market or similar phrases are to the 44 countries contained in the IMS Health MIDAS Quantum database, which amounted to approximately 96% (in value) of the countries audited by IMS Health.
AstraZeneca websites
Information on or accessible through our websites, including astrazeneca.com, astrazenecaclinicaltrials.com and medimmune.com, does not form part of and is not incorporated into this Annual Report.
External/third party websites
Information on or accessible through any third party or external website does not form part of and is not incorporated into this Annual Report.
Definitions
The Glossary and Market definitions table are intended to provide a useful guide to terms and AstraZeneca’s definition of markets, as well as to acronyms and abbreviations, used in this Annual Report. They are, however, provided solely for the convenience of the reader and should therefore not be relied upon as providing a definitive view of the subject matter to which they relate.
Use of terms
In this Annual Report and Form 20-F Information, unless the context otherwise requires, 'AstraZeneca', 'the Group', 'we', 'us' and 'our' refer to AstraZeneca PLC and its consolidated entities and any reference to 'this Annual Report' is a reference to this Annual Report and Form 20-F Information.
Statements of dates
Except as otherwise stated, references to days and/or months in this Annual Report are references to days and/or months in 2010.
Figures
Figures in parentheses in tables and in the Financial Statements are used to represent negative numbers.
Trade marks
Trade marks of the AstraZeneca group of companies appear throughout this Annual Report in italics. AstraZeneca, the AstraZeneca logotype and the AstraZeneca symbol are all trade marks of the AstraZeneca group of companies. Trade marks of companies other than AstraZeneca appear with a ™ sign and include: Abraxane™, a trade mark of Abraxis BioScience, LLC.; Advair Diskus™, a trade mark of Glaxo Group Limited; Celebrex™, a trade mark of G.D. Searle LLC; Cubicin™, a trade mark of Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; CytoFab™, a trade mark of Protherics Inc.; Ethyol™, a trade mark of Scherico Ltd in certain countries and AstraZeneca in others; Iscover™, a trade mark of Sanofi-Aventis; Kombiglyze™, a trade mark of Bristol-Myers Squibb Company; Lipitor™, a trade mark of Pfizer Ireland Pharmaceuticals; Onglyza™, a trade mark of Bristol-Myers Squibb Company; Plavix™, a trade mark of Sanofi-Aventis; Teflaro™, a trade mark of Forest Laboratories, Inc.; and Trilipix™, a trade mark of Fournier Industrie et Santé.