Oct. 30 (Bloomberg) -- AstraZeneca Plc, the best performing stock among European drugmakers this year, suspended its share repurchasing plan to free up cash for more acquisitions.

AstraZeneca will put off buybacks and decide next year if it will continue the buyback program as the London-based company takes advantage of product licensing and acquisition opportunities created by the global economic crisis, Chief Financial Officer Simon Lowth said on a conference call.

``AstraZeneca is well positioned to weather turmoil in the credit markets,'' Lowth said. ``Externalization is a central plan in our strategy. We want to retain maximum flexibility in the current economic conditions.''

AstraZeneca joins GlaxoSmithKline Plc and Novo Nordisk A/S in seeking bargains as the financial crisis forces cash-strapped companies to seek buyouts. Glaxo last week said it plans to scrap its stock repurchasing program in 2009 to free up funds for more purchases. Novo CFO Jesper Brandgaard said today that the Danish drugmaker is earmarking as much as $2 billion for takeovers. AstraZeneca will not seek a ``large scale'' purchase and will reconsider share buybacks in January, Lowth said.

AstraZeneca third-quarter earnings excluding restructuring and other one-time costs rose to $1.32 a share, the company said today in a statement. Sales of Nexium for ulcers and anti- cholesterol drug Crestor outside the U.S. market helped beat analyst targets for the products.

The U.K.'s second-largest drugmaker increased its forecast for earnings per share excluding restructuring and other one-time costs to a range of $4.90 to $5.05 as the company benefited from currency movements. The U.K. pound is headed for its fourth monthly drop against the dollar.

Profit Gained

Profit gained 28 percent to $1.73 billion, or $1.20 a share, from $1.34 billion, or 90 cents, a year earlier. Eight analysts surveyed by Bloomberg estimated net income of $1.57 billion, or $1.05 per share. Sales gained 8.7 percent to $7.78 billion.

Generic competition to heart drug Toprol XL in the U.S. offset a 5 percent sales gain there, AstraZeneca said.

The stock rose 127 pence, or 5.2 percent, to 2,550 pence in London trading. AstraZeneca is the best performer in the Bloomberg Europe Pharmaceutical Index, with a gain of 18 percent this year. The 18-member index has fallen 13 percent.

To contact the reporter on this story: Trista Kelley in London at tkelley2@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: October 30, 2008 13:15 EDT