Pfizer third-quarter sales miss estimates on Covid downturn

Pfizer’s results missed reduced expectations for the quarter as sales of its Covid-19 shot and Paxlovid pill continued to tumble. Third-quarter sales fell 42 per cent to $13.2 billion (€12.4bn), Pfizer said in a statement, short of the Wall Street view of $13.5 billion. The company posted a loss of 17 cent a share on an adjusted basis, compared with the average estimate for a loss of 33 cent.

The quarterly loss, Pfizer’s first on an adjusted basis in at least 33 years according to data compiled by Bloomberg, comes as no surprise after the company slashed its annual sales forecast range by $9 billion on October 13th, citing falling sales of Covid products. Questions remain about the prospects for Paxlovid and whether the drugmaker’s expectation for a 17 per cent vaccination rate with the latest Covid boosters is too optimistic.

Jobs at Pfizer’s Irish operations are under threat as the company considers how it will implement $3.5 billion (€3.3bn) in cuts worldwide on the back of the slump in sales of Covid therapies, The Irish Times reported earlier this month.

[ Pfizer’s Irish staff face threat of job cuts as demand for Covid therapies weakens ]

The shares were little changed in US trade. They have plunged 40 per cent so far this year through Monday’s close.

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Sales of the Covid booster were $1.31 billion, missing the $1.52 billion expected by analysts. Paxlovid sales fell 97 per cent to $202 million, while analysts had estimated sales of $370 million. Pfizer has agreed to take millions of Paxlovid courses back from the US government, part of an effort to get more private, higher-priced sales of the drug.

Blood-thinner Eliquis narrowly missed estimates with sales of $1.5 billion in revenue. Ibrance, a breast cancer treatment, met expectations of $1.24 billion in sales. A group of shots to protect against pneumonia beat estimates with sales of $1.85 billion.

Pfizer is cutting about $3.5 billion in costs across the company, including lay-offs and reductions in research and development expenses. The company said on Friday that it would close two facilities in North Carolina as part of those measures.

The company also awaits US regulatory approval for its $43 billion acquisition of cancer biotech firm Seagen Inc. The deal got unconditional support from European Union regulators, suggesting it may not face much US scrutiny. – Bloomberg