By David Swan
Australian biotech giant CSL’s profits have taken a hit from lower vaccination rates in the US as noted vaccine sceptic Robert F Kennedy Jr closes in on the role of health secretary in the Trump administration.
The Melbourne-based company on Tuesday posted what chief executive Paul McKenzie described as a robust set of half-year results, with net profit rising 7 per cent year-on-year to $US2.01 billion ($3.2 billion) and revenue up 5 per cent to $US8.48 billion. The company declared an interim dividend of $US1.30 per share, up 9 per cent.
CSL has seen lower vaccination rates in the US, which hit sales of its flu shots.Credit: The Age
However, earnings at its flu vaccine unit Seqirus felt the decline in US vaccination rates, particularly in the age 18 to 64 cohort, which pushed revenues down 9 per cent to $US1.66 billion for the six months to the end of December.
McKenzie said CSL, one of the world’s largest medical science companies, would continue to advocate for vaccinations amid rising scepticism. Kennedy, a noted vaccine critic, is expected to soon lead the US Health Department after a Senate committee backed his nomination this month.
“I look at the data because all the rest is fluid,” McKenzie said.
“I just got a report this morning – it’s going to be the worst flu season in the US in more than 20 years. This second peak of flu in the US is the worst, and the reality is that we’ve already had 50 children die in this season, and to me, that’s heartbreaking to think somebody is losing their child to the flu when we have good solutions out there.
“So we need to work on our advocacy and get the word out there, that from a public health viewpoint people are getting properly vaccinated.”
The company posted stronger results across its Behring and Vifor units, which produce core blood plasma and iron deficiency products, respectively.
McKenzie reaffirmed CSL’s earnings forecasts, and said that he expected the company’s profit to rise between 10 per cent and 13 per cent this financial year.
He added that CSL would continue to introduce artificial intelligence into its operations, but in a responsible manner.
“We have multiple use cases now where we’ve introduced it with real benefits for our front-line people,” he said. “And as we learn, and we muse machine learning even more, I think it’ll be more impactful.“
Goldman Sachs analysts described the result as a mixed bag, but maintained their buy recommendation for the stock and their 12-month share price target of $325.40.
“The weakness in Seqirus appears primarily driven by industry pressures, with [rivals] Sanofi and GSK reporting double-digit revenue declines over the comparable period,” they wrote in a report.
Investors sent shares in CSL down 5.3 per cent to $256, wiping about $6 billion from its valuation.
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