© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Empty vials of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus illness (COVID-19) vaccine are seen at The Michener Institute, in Toronto, Canada January 4, 2021 on this file photograph. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – BioNTech mentioned first-quarter gross sales and earnings greater than tripled because of demand for the COVID-19 vaccine it developed with Pfizer (NYSE:), however the German biotech agency reaffirmed its forecast for a full-year decline in vaccine gross sales.
First-quarter revenues greater than tripled from the year-earlier interval, to six.37 billion euros, as did quarterly internet earnings, to three.70 billion euros, the corporate mentioned in a press release on Monday.
“On account of an elevated order quantity initially positioned in late 2021 following the then-emerging Omicron variant, we started the yr 2022 with robust revenues and earnings, leaving us well-positioned to attain the 2022 monetary steering,” finance chief Jens Holstein mentioned.
BioNTech reiterated its 2022 vaccine income steering of between 13 billion and 17 billion euros, down from 19 billion final yr, implying a decline throughout the remainder of the yr.
As in earlier quarters, BioNTech based mostly its steering solely on agency orders for the yr, which have been unchanged at about 2.4 billion doses from a March 30 estimate, under the two.6 billion doses delivered in 2021.
Rival vaccine maker Moderna (NASDAQ:) was extra bullish final week, forecasting increased vaccine gross sales for the second half of the yr than within the first six months, because it expects demand for booster photographs within the fall.
BioNTech’s accomplice Pfizer final week additionally took a cautious method and solely thought-about the present order backlog for its 2022 COVID vaccine gross sales forecast of $32 billion, down from $36.8 billion final yr.
The German firm on Monday added that it expects to have trial information on its efforts to develop a COVID vaccine that addresses the dominant Omicron variant within the coming weeks.
