REG - AstraZeneca PLC - Annual Financial Report <Origin Href="QuoteRef">AZN.L</Origin> - Part 6

AstraZenecaAnnouncement

10/03/2015 11:01

- Part 6: For the preceding part double click  ID:nRSJ0188He 

                                                                                                      
 statements are of a forward-looking nature and are based on assumptions and judgements we make, all of which are subject to                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            
 significant inherent risks and uncertainties, including risks and uncertainties that we are unaware of and/or that are beyond                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
 our control.Any failure to successfully implement our business strategy may frustrate the achievement of our financial or other                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
 targets or expectations and, in turn, materially damage our brand and materially adversely affect our business, financial                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
 position or results of operations.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     
 Adverse impact of a sustained economic downturn                                                                                 Impact                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
 A variety of significant risks may arise from a sustained global economic downturn. Additional pressure from governments and    While we have adopted cash management and treasury policies to manage this risk (see the Financial risk management policies section on page 81), we cannot be certain that these will be as effective as they are intended to be, in particular in the event of a global liquidity crisis. In addition, open positions where we are owed money and investments we have made in financial institutions or money market funds cannot be guaranteed to be recoverable. Additionally, if we need access to external sources of financing to sustain and/or grow our business, such as the debt or equity capital financial markets, this may not be available on commercially acceptable terms, if at all, in the event of a severe and/or sustained economic downturn. This may, for instance, be the case in the event of any default by the Group on its debt obligations, which may materially adversely affect our ability to secure debt funding in the future or our financial condition in general. Further information on debt funding arrangements is contained in the Financial risk management policies section on page 81.    
 other healthcare payers on medicine prices and volumes of sales in response to recessionary pressures on budgets may cause a                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
 slowdown or a decline in growth in some markets. In some cases, those governments most severely impacted by the economic                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
 downturn may seek alternative ways to settle their debts through, for example, the issuance of government bonds which might                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            
 trade at a discount to the face value of the debt. In addition, our customers may cease to trade, which may result in losses                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
 from writing off debts, or the sustained economic downturn may unfavourably affect the spending patterns of the consumers of our                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
 products. We are highly dependent on being able to access a sustainable flow of liquid funds due to the high fixed costs of                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            
 operating our business and the long and uncertain development cycles of our products. In a sustained economic downturn,                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
 financial institutions with whom we deal may cease to trade and there can be no guarantee that we will be able to access monies                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
 owed to us without a protracted, expensive and uncertain process, if at all. More than 95% of our cash investments are managed