Morningstar gives AstraZeneca “A” credit rating

Morningstar has given an "A" credit rating to multi-national pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca.

The rating, which means it is seen as a low default risk, comes in the wake of positive trading figures from the company.

AstraZeneca confirmed that core EPS in 2015 went up by seven percent and by 22 percent in Q4 2015.

Total revenue went up by one percent throughout the year, while the gross margin on product sales also rose by one percent.

Pascal Soriot, chief executive officer at AstraZeneca, commented: "We delivered a strong pipeline and financial performance in 2015 as we begin the next phase in our strategic journey.

"Our culture of innovation continued to drive R&D productivity, with six regulatory approvals in the year."

The company went on to express confidence that this momentum would continue throughout 2016, with the Morningstar credit rating potentially representing a vindication of this view.