Business

Pfizer beats estimates as Covid vaccine and antiviral outperform

Group says it remains on track to achieve its 7%-9% revenue growth from other products this year

Better than expected sales of its Covid vaccine and antiviral medicine helped Pfizer beat expectations in the first quarter. File photograph: Bay Ismoyo/Getty Images

Tue May 2 2023 - 13:16

Pfizer’s first-quarter profit and revenue outpaced analysts’ expectations as demand for its pandemic products persisted even as they face pressure amid waning infections.

Adjusted first-quarter earnings were $1.23 a share, Pfizer said on Tuesday in a statement, exceeding analysts’ expectation of 97 US cents. Revenue of $18.3 billion (€16.7 billion) also handily beat Wall Street expectations.

The company left untouched its full-year earnings guidance at $3.25 to $3.45 a share, and revenue at $67 billion to $71 billion.

Pfizer has struggled

Wells Fargo analyst Mohit Bansal said he had expected the company to lower its 2023 forecast for Covid vaccine sales further. “Expectations for vaccine sales were weak, so intact Covid guidance is a positive surprise,” he said.

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Pfizer has struggled with a steep drop-off in demand for its Covid products that has made its stock among the worst-performing in big pharma this year. It said it expects newer drugs to contribute to growth later this year.

The drug maker announced the $43 billion planned acquisition of cancer-drug biotech Seagen earlier this year, giving investors more assurance that it’s seeking new avenues for growth.

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Pfizer’s Covid vaccine Comirnaty and Paxlovid antiviral transformed the company, contributing more than half its $100 billion in sales last year. But in the first quarter, revenue for the shot fell 77 per cent to $3.1 billion, more than the $2.6 billion analysts expected. Paxlovid saw quarterly purchases at $4.1 billion, beating estimates for $2.7 billion.

Excluding Covid product sales, Pfizer said it remains on track to achieve its goal of 7 per cent to 9 per cent revenue growth this year and expects the majority of the growth to occur in the second half.

Covid product sales

The company has said it expects 2023 to be a low point for Covid product sales, before potentially returning to growth in 2024.

The shares rose 3 per cent before US markets opened.

The company expects the Seagen deal to close late this year or early 2024 after antitrust regulators will likely closely examine the purchase. It is part of a multibillion-dollar effort to mitigate an anticipated $17 billion hit to revenue by 2030 from patent expirations for top drugs, and a decline in demand for its Covid products. — Bloomberg/Reuters

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