Pfizer beats profit estimates on steady COVID products demand

Pfizer

Pfizer beats profit estimates on steady COVID products demand

By Bhanvi Satija and Raghav Mahobe

May 2 (Reuters) – Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) on Tuesday beat estimates for first-quarter profit, helped by steady demand for its COVID products and said it expects newer drugs to contribute to growth later this year, sending its shares up nearly 3% in premarket trading.

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

First-quarter sales for both the vaccine and its antiviral pill came in above Wall Street estimates.

Sales of its COVID-19 vaccine Comirnaty slumped 77% to $3.06 billion in the quarter, but topped estimates of $2.37 billion, according to Refinitiv data.

Antiviral treatment Paxlovid sales rose by $2.8 billion to $4.07 billion, also beating estimates of $3.13 billion, bolstered by strong demand in China during the quarter.

Pfizer is pumping billions of dollars into research and to buy potential blockbuster assets 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.

The drugmaker on Tuesday reaffirmed its annual profit forecast of $3.25 to $3.45 per share and COVID products sales outlook of about $21.5 billion.

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.

The company said it expects significantly lower sales contributions from COVID products in the second quarter from the first quarter.

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

Overall revenues for the first quarter fell 29% to $18.3 billion, compared with estimates of $16.59 billion.

Excluding items, the U.S. drugmaker posted a better-than -expected profit of $1.23 per share.

Reporting by Bhanvi Satija and Raghav Mahobe in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Source: Reuters