After the business’s Q2 earnings fell short of analysts’ expectations, BioNTech’s (NASDAQ:BNTX) stock declined almost 5% before the market opened on August 8. Despite this, the Company reiterated its outlook for COVID-19 vaccine sales in 2022.
Revenue decreased 39.79 % year over year to €3.2B, while Q2 EPS plunged by 40.11 % to €6.45. Income from direct Sales of the COVID-19 vaccine to clients in BioNTech’s market, Germany and Turkey, decreased to €557M from almost €1.04B in Q1 2021. Sales of goods produced by BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX) for its partnership partners rose to €608.3M from €138.1M in the same period the previous year.
The German Company claimed that because of the pandemic’s dynamic character, orders had to be phased in differently, producing variations in quarterly revenues. If the Omicron-adapted bivalent vaccine is licensed, this demand uptick is projected to continue through the rest of the year in significant countries. In addition, a trial for a bivalent vaccination modified for Omicron BA.4/5 is set to begin in August by BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX) and Pfizer (PFE).
Jens Holstein, BioNTech’s CFO, said that with their initiatives around variant-adapted COVID-19 vaccine candidates, they expect an uptake in demand in their key markets in the fourth quarter of 2022, subject to regulatory approval.
Subject to regulatory approvals, BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX) hopes to begin shipping the vaccines as early as October. The two variant-adapted bivalent COVID-19 vaccines contain the original strain and Omicron BA.1 or BA.4/5 spike protein. BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX) reaffirmed that it expected COVID-19 vaccine sales for the entire 2022 fiscal year to range between €13 billion and €17 billion. Pfizer previously stated that it anticipates Comirnaty revenues of around $32 billion in FY22.
According to BioNTech’s August 8 financial announcement, the companies secured orders for 2.5 billion doses for 2022 and invoiced 1.2 billion amounts for the year’s first half. Net Profit fell to €1,67 billion from €2 .79 billion in Q2 2021. In Q2 2021, research and development costs were €201.1M; in Q2 2022, they were €399.6M. The corporation has €9.33B in cash and cash equivalents as of June 30. The projected special cash dividend of €2 per ordinary share (including those held in the form of ADSs) was approved by the Company’s shareholders in June 2022, resulting in a payout of €484.3M overall.
BioNTech’s Buyback
During Q2, BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX) repurchased 2.08 million American Depositary Shares (ADSs) for $302.7 million (€286.9 million) at an average price of $145.65 per ADS. The current natural gas shortfall is not anticipated to have an impact on BioNTech’s commercial mRNA manufacture at its facilities, the Company said. However, it said that it is impossible to forecast the result of a continued or worsening natural gas shortage with precision.
BioNTech’s Outlook
Additionally, BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX) updated its forecast for the following: Expects R&D costs to be in the range of €1.4B and €1.5B, and capital expenditures are anticipated to be between €450M and €550M. BNTX fell by 4.54 % to $174.79 on the August 8 premarket.
Featured Image: Megapixl @PhotoGranary
