(Bloomberg) — Pfizer Inc. raised its forecast for the year on the strength of its Covid-19 vaccine sales and projected 2022 revenue for the shot above analysts’ expectations.
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Annual revenue from the shot developed with BioNTech SE will be $36 billion, up $2.5 billion from an earlier forecast, as the companies now have agreements to supply 2.3 billion doses in 2021, New York-based Pfizer said Tuesday in a statement.
Pfizer shares rose 1.1% as of 9:49 a.m. in New York. American depositary receipts of Germany-based BioNTech jumped 3.4%.
Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine has become its main driver of revenue and profit as it continues to lead rivals in clearances for different populations. Revenue from the shot will taper in 2022 to about $29 billion in 2022 on sales of about 1.7 billion doses, the company said, still higher than Wall Street’s average view of $23 billion.
The companies might still get additional orders for next year, Pfizer Chief Financial Officer Frank D’Amelio said in a presentation. The partners anticipate being able to make up to 4 billion doses in 2022.
Spurred by new supply agreements, including for booster doses and children’s shots, Pfizer raised its 2021 adjusted profit forecast to $4.13 to $4.18 a share, up from the earlier view that topped out at $4.05. Revenue will be $81 billion to $82 billion, compared with an earlier forecast for as much as $80 billion.
The vaccine market is still likely to grow before the end of the year, with Pfizer and BioNTech producing up to 3 billion doses. Meanwhile, U.S. public health experts will consider recommending the shot as the first for use in young children later Tuesday following a recent Food and Drug Administration authorization for the demographic.
What Bloomberg Intelligence Says:
“The 24% EPS and 6% sales beats reflect our expectations, but the real question is whether consensus’ $23 billion for 2022 vaccine sales is too low. Raised guidance reflects the outperformance, though higher R&D costs partly mitigate the boost to earnings.”
— Sam Fazeli, BI senior pharmaceutical industry analystClick here to read the research.
Quarterly profit was $1.34 a share, trouncing analysts’ expectation of $1.08. Pfizer booked $13 billion in third-quarter sales from the vaccine, beating analysts’ expectation of $11.5 billion. Pfizer has made 2.6 billion doses this year.
Excluding the vaccine, drug revenues grew 11% in the quarter from a year ago. The company slightly decreased the upper end of its forecast for non-vaccine products to $46 billion after a recall of tobacco-cessation drug Chantix.
Expanding Market
Investors are closely watching the initial pickup in demand for Covid-19 booster doses and shots for kids. The U.S. has purchased 115 million pediatric doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, more than enough to vaccinate every child in the country.
The rollout of shots to those age 5 to 11 is expected to start imminently, and U.S. regulators may soon evaluate data from even younger children. Pfizer expects to report early results from a trial of its vaccine in those 2 to 4 years old this quarter, and anticipates getting data from those 6 months to less than 2 years old next quarter.
The FDA recently informed competitor Moderna Inc. that it will need additional time to assess the company’s emergency request to approve its Covid-19 vaccine for children ages 12 to 17 as regulators examine the risk of myocarditis, a rare form of heart inflammation. Pfizer Chief Scientific Officer Mikael Dolsten acknowledged that his company may have an advantage in the market for shots for adolescents and children.
Moderna’s vaccine “may not be available in the near-term for younger people,” he said in prepared remarks.
Late-stage studies of Pfizer’s experimental pill to treat Covid are expected to produce preliminary results this quarter and “extend through mid-2022,” Dolsten said. That puts it well behind competitor Merck & Co.’s experimental Covid pill, molnupiravir, which could be cleared by regulators in early December.
(Updates throughout)
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