BioNTech posts tripled Q1 vaccine sales but still flags full-year decline

[May 09, 2022]  FRANKFURT (Reuters) - BioNTech said first-quarter sales and earnings more than tripled thanks to demand for the COVID-19 vaccine it developed with Pfizer, but the German biotech firm reaffirmed its forecast for a full-year decline in vaccine sales.

First-quarter revenues more than tripled from the year-earlier period, to 6.37 billion euros, as did quarterly net income, to 3.70 billion euros, the company said in a statement on Monday.

"As a result of an increased order volume initially placed in late 2021 following the then-emerging Omicron variant, we began the year 2022 with strong revenues and earnings, leaving us well-positioned to achieve the 2022 financial guidance," finance chief Jens Holstein said.

BioNTech reiterated its 2022 vaccine revenue guidance of between 13 billion and 17 billion euros, down from 19 billion last year, implying a decline during the rest of the year.

As in previous quarters, BioNTech based its guidance only on firm orders for the year, which were unchanged at about 2.4 billion doses from a March 30 estimate, below the 2.6 billion doses delivered in 2021.

Empty vials of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine are seen at The Michener Institute, in Toronto, Canada January 4, 2021 in this file photo. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio

Rival vaccine maker Moderna was more bullish last week, forecasting higher vaccine sales for the second half of the year than in the first six months, as it expects demand for booster shots in the fall.

BioNTech's partner Pfizer last week also took a cautious approach and only considered the current order backlog for its 2022 COVID vaccine sales forecast of $32 billion, down from $36.8 billion last year.

The German company on Monday added that it expects to have trial data on its efforts to develop a COVID vaccine that addresses the dominant Omicron variant in the coming weeks.

(Reporting by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Maria Sheahan)

[© 2022 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]  This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.