Covid hangover: Pfizer reported revenue of £11.9bn for the first three months of 2024
US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer reported a drop in sales in a post-Covid vaccine crisis.
It reported revenue of £11.9bn for the first three months of 2024, a fifth year-on-year decline, as it tries to regain its footing following the rapid decline of its Covid business.
Sales of the vaccine fell 88 per cent to £283 million. But stocks rose on Wall Street as entrepreneurs raised a key profit metric by 5 percent by 2024, amid “confidence” in their business and their ability to cut costs.
It said it was on track to generate at least £3.5bn in savings this year.
The company has also focused more on cancer treatments after acquiring pharmaceutical company Seagen for £34bn last year.
Excluding Covid products, first quarter revenue increased 11 percent.
But sales of its vaccine for protection against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) were insufficient.
CEO Dr Albert Bourla said a well-executed quarter was “setting the tone for the year”.
Pfizer’s stock soared during the pandemic after it launched a Covid vaccine, but retreated when lockdowns were lifted.
Today it has a market capitalization of around £116 billion, less than half its pandemic-era peak in late 2021.