Pharmaceuticals giant AstraZeneca was forced to reiterate its predicted financial performance after confidential data was accidentally leaked to investment analysts.

The data in question was "out-of-date planning information". the company said in a statement.It was "inadvertently embedded in a spreadsheet template sent to the sell-side analyst community".

AstraZeneca said the data "does not represent the company’s view of expected financial performance", and reaffirmed the performance predictions it made in December. The precise nature of the data is not known.

The news is the second blow to the company in as many months. In December, it revealed that two drugs it is developing – a treatment for ovarian cancer and a new anti-depressant – have failed late stage trials. AstraZeneca will incur a $380 million charge as a result.

Also last month, the company announced that it will be outsourcing the statistical analysis of drug trial data to Indian provider Cognizant, extending an existing BPO contract with the company.

In May last year, AstraZeneca announced the closure of its UK research and development facility near Loughborough, leading to 1,200 job cuts.