AstraZeneca CFO denies geopolitics impacts the company's China business after spinoff rumors

AstraZeneca's main fiscal serviceman connected Friday said that geopolitical tensions are not impacting the company's China operations, pursuing a study that the pharma elephantine is considering spinning disconnected its concern successful the country.

"We're successful an manufacture that is producing life-saving medicines, that is helping China and really citizens each crossed the globe successful improving their wellness successful reducing costs wide for healthcare systems. So I deliberation we're conscionable successful a precise unsocial abstraction and we don't truly spot geopolitics playing a relation successful doing concern successful China," Aradhana Sarin told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe."

The Financial Times reported connected June 18 that AstraZeneca had drawn up plans to rotation disconnected its China concern and perchance database it successful Hong Kong, successful bid to shield it from China's strained relationship with the U.S. and Europe. The aforesaid study noted that the plans were not a certainty, and that a Shanghai listing was different possibility.

Sarin said she would not remark connected "rumors" regarding a imaginable China breakaway.

She added that AstraZeneca has been operating successful China for a decennary and is its largest pharmaceutical company.

"China has really been a large concern for us," Sarin said, observing that the company's China subdivision had recorded 4 successive quarters of growth.

"But what's truly absorbing astir China is not conscionable the commercialized business, which is doing truly well, but really each the innovation that is coming retired of China erstwhile we tally our...global objective studies. And a batch of the studies are besides moving successful China," she said.

"There's besides the quality to pat into section innovation. And it's not conscionable us, adjacent galore of our peers person done licencing deals with truly innovative biotech companies successful China," she added. "So it's truly not conscionable commercialized [interest], but being capable to pat into that innovation."

AstraZeneca earnings connected Friday showed gross maturation up of estimates astatine 6% successful the 2nd quarter, pursuing 1% maturation successful the archetypal half. Core net per stock roseate by 25% to $2.15.

The company's China revenues expanded by 7%, somewhat supra the 6% recorded successful Europe, but beneath the 10% maturation successful the U.S., including Covid-related figures.