Pandemic pummelling: Pfizer reports 32% plunge in 2Q profits

Pfizer Inc has reported a 32 percent plunge in second-quarter profit, mainly due to the global coronavirus pandemic limiting the marketing of and new prescriptions for its medicines.

Pfizer had predicted in April that the virus would keep both patients and company sales representatives away from doctors and hospitals. Still, the biggest US drugmaker by revenue posted a solid profit and nudged up parts of its 2020 financial forecast and reaffirmed the rest.

The maker of the world’s top-selling vaccine, Prevnar 13 for preventing ear infections, pneumonia and related bacterial diseases, noted that the pandemic restricted doctor visits, prescriptions for new medicines and vaccination rates for many of its shots. However, it boosted sales of its medicines used to treat patients hospitalised with COVID-19.

Pfizer is among the drugmakers leading the race to develop a safe, effective vaccine against the coronavirus. It is one of several drugmakers included in Operation Warp Speed, the US government’s effort to accelerate the development of multiple vaccines.

Pfizer, the world’s biggest maker of injectable sterile medicines, late Monday announced the start of a late-stage trial of an experimental COVID-19 vaccine that it is developing with German partner BioNTech. The US Food and Drug Administration approved the companies’ plan for the global trial, which will include up to 30,000 adult participants at about 120 sites in the United States and other countries.

The pandemic has infected nearly 16.5 million people worldwide and killed more than 655,000. Roughly a quarter of those cases and deaths have occurred in the US, though experts say the true number of cases is much higher.

Amid the turmoil, Pfizer continues to remake itself, aiming to create a nimbler company focused on creating new drugs. Last summer, Pfizer divested its consumer health business into a joint venture with GlaxoSmithKline. That business had brought in $862m in the year-ago quarter.

Pfizer now is in the process of spinning out its Upjohn business, which sells older, mostly off-patent drugs, and combining it with generic drugmaker Mylan. The deal is now expected to close in the fourth quarter.

Revenue from Pfizer’s newer prescription drugs rose 4 percent to $9.8bn in the quarter, led by breast cancer drug Ibrance, with $1.35bn in sales and clot preventer Eliquis, which brought in $1.27bn. Prevnar 13 added $1.12bn in sales.

The Upjohn business saw sales plunge 32 percent to $2.01bn, partly due to increasing generic competition in the US for its former blockbuster nerve pain drug Lyrica.

Pfizer also reported second-quarter revenue of $1.24bn for its sterile injectable drugs, $289m for its “biosimilar” versions of injected biologic drugs and $1.4bn in revenue from various drugmaker partners.

Overall, the New York company reported net income of $3.43bn, or 61 cents per share, down from $5.55bn, or 89 cents, a year earlier. Revenue fell 11 percent to $11.8bn, down from $13.26bn in 2019’s second quarter, but managed to beat analysts’ forecasts for $11.54bn.

Adjusted income came to $4.4bn, or 78 cents per share, topping the 68 cents that analysts expected, according to FactSet.

The Viagra maker raised its 2020 earnings-per-share forecast by 3 cents, to a range of $2.85 to $2.95, and tweaked its full-year sales forecast, to a range of $48.6bn to $50.6bn, from its April forecast of $48.5bn to $50.5bn.

Given its divestment plans, Pfizer also updated its financial guidance for its remaining, new-drug business, for 2020 revenue of $40.8bn to $42.4bn, and earnings-per-share of $2.28 to $2.38, both up just a hair.

Shares are up 2.2 percent, or 81 cents, to $38.35 in morning trading.