Pfizer posts first quarterly loss since 2019

Drugmaker Pfizer posted third-quarter sales that missed estimates and reported its first quarterly loss since 2019 on Tuesday amid plummeting demand for its Covid-19 vaccine.

Pfizer said overall revenue was $13.23bn for the three months ended 30 September, down from $22.64bn a year earlier, leading the group to deliver a loss per share of $0.42 - a marked difference when compared to the prior year's profit of $1.51 per share.

The New York-based firm principally attributed the loss to $5.6bn one-time charge linked to the US government's move to return millions of doses of its antiviral treatment Paxlovid, as well as inventory of its vaccine Comirnaty.

Paxlovid sales tumbled 97% to $202.0m in the third quarter, while vaccine revenue came in at $1.31bn, down from $4.4bn a year earlier. Analysts had expected sales of $1.44bn for the vaccine and $618.20m for Paxlovid.

Pfizer said it expects revenue growth of 6%-8% from its non-Covid products for the year, with the bulk of that expected in the second half.

As of 1515 GMT, Pfizer shares were down 1.80% at $30.00 each.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com