Pharma giants Moderna (MRNA, $186.64) reported second-quarter results that beat earnings and revenue expectations. Numbers were buoyed by $4.5 billion in sales from its Covid -19 vaccine. This however was caveated by the fact that it’s still the company’s only commercially available product and it took a big hit on expiring shots.
The company retained its full-year outlook for $21 billion in sales, based on current agreements. But that could change with the authorization of an omicron-blasting Covid booster shot. Overall, Moderna earned $5.24 per share on $4.75 billion in second-quarter sales. As expected, the company's profit fell by 19%. But analysts called for a deeper decline to $4.58 per share. Moderna took a nearly $500 million hit on write-downs for vaccines that have expired or are expected to expire before they can be used.
Moderna also lost $184 million in vaccine purchase commitments with the mainly charges due to substantial reductions in expected vaccine deliveries to Covax.
Moderna also lost $184 million in vaccine purchase commitments due to substantial reductions in expected vaccine deliveries to Covax. The COVID-19 vaccinations producer also stated that it will buy back $3 billion in shares.