Pfizer beats estimates with Q2 earnings
Shares in pharma giant Pfizer were in the green ahead of the bell on Tuesday after posting better-than-expected second-quarter earnings and raising its full-year guidance.
Dow Jones I.A.
38,085.80
04:30 15/10/20
Pfizer Inc.
$25.26
11:09 25/04/24
Pfizer reported adjusted earnings of $0.78 per share, higher than the $0.66 per share expected by analysts, despite revealing an 11% decline in revenues to $11.8bn as demand for many of its drugs dwindled amid the Covid-19 pandemic. On an unadjusted basis, net income contracted to $3.43bn from $.5.05bn a year earlier.
The New York-based company said Covid-19 had hit second-quarter revenues by about $500m as a result of fewer new prescriptions being written and less vaccinations taking place during the period.
However, Pfizer raised its full-year outlook to $2.85-2.95 per share from its previous forecast of $2.82-2.92 and expects to bring in roughly $48.6bn-50.6bn in sales for 2020 - also slightly up from previous guidance of $48.5bn-$50.5bn.
Pfizer also highlighted a 4% revenue jump in its biopharma unit to $9.8bn as a result of demand for breast cancer drug Ibrance and blood thinner treatments.
Chief executive Albert Bourla said: "We remain fully committed to confronting the public health challenge posed by the Covid-19 pandemic by collaborating with industry partners and academic institutions to develop potential approaches to prevent and treat Covid-19.
"Our researchers and scientists have made important progress toward developing an effective vaccine though significant additional work remains."
Separately, Pfizer and German biotech firm BioNTech launched a late-stage human trial for a potential coronavirus vaccine on Monday.
As of 1340 BST, Pfizer shares were up 3.09% in pre-market trading at $38.70 each.