A vial of Omicron’s BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) booster vaccine is shown at Skippack Pharmacy in Schwenksville, Pennsylvania, on September 8, 2022.
Hannah Beier | Reuters
modern on Thursday missed fourth-quarter profit expectations as costs rose from excess manufacturing capacity and lower demand for the Covid-19 vaccine, the company’s only product on the market.
Moderna reported quarterly earnings of $3.61 per share, down 68% from the same period in 2021, when it posted $11.29 per share. That number fell short of the $4.68 a share Wall Street had expected.
The Boston-based biotech company generated revenue of $5.1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2022, which was in line with analysts’ expectations, but down 30% from the same period in 2021.
Moderna shares fell more than 3% in premarket trading.
Moderna has signed contracts on the books for $5 billion in supplies of the Covid vaccine for 2023. Although the company expects more sales in the US, Europe and Japan in 2023, demand for the injections is falling as the pandemic eases and life returns to normal.
Here’s a breakdown of how the company fared compared to Wall Street expectations, based on average analyst estimates compiled by Refinitiv:
- Adjusted earnings: $3.61 per share versus $4.68 expected
- income: $5.1 billion vs. $5 billion is expected
Moderna sold $18.4 billion worth of vaccines during 2022, up 4% from the previous year, and the company achieved its highest level of revenue during the pandemic. The company posted net income of $8.4 billion in 2022, down 31% from 2021.
The company said its costs rose 25% in the fourth quarter. Those expenses included a $297 million write-down for vaccines that had passed their expiration dates, $376 million in unused manufacturing capacity, and $400 million in royalties to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Although the Covid shot remains Moderna’s only product on the market, the company plans to ask the Food and Drug Administration in the first half of this year to approve a vaccine that protects older adults against respiratory syncytial virus. after reading positive data.
The FDA has also designated Moderna and Merck’s personalized cancer vaccine as a breakthrough therapy that could speed development and regulatory review of the vaccine.
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