Moderna had better-than-expected results for the first three months of the year. They cut costs effectively, and the sales of their COVID-19 vaccine were higher than expected.
The company’s Covid vaccine is their only product available right now. But they’re close to releasing another one, which is important because the demand for COVID-19 shots is decreasing globally. They plan to get approval for their vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus on May 12, and if they do, they’ll start selling it in the third quarter.
After the announcement, Moderna’s stock went up more than 6% on Thursday.
Here’s what Moderna’s first-quarter numbers looked like compared to what experts expected:
– Loss per share: $3.07 (experts thought it would be $3.58)
– Revenue: $167 million (experts expected $97.5 million)
Moderna’s CEO, Stéphane Bancel, talked about how they’ve made good progress in reducing their expenses. He said their team has done a great job making the company smaller.
Moderna made $167 million in sales during the first quarter. Their revenue from the Covid vaccine dropped by about 90% compared to last year, down from $1.86 billion.
About $100 million of their sales came from the U.S., and $67 million came from other countries, mainly in Latin America, according to Moderna’s CFO, Jamey Mock. The drop in revenue happened because more people get their Covid shots during fall and winter. This shift to a seasonal market was expected.
For the first quarter, Moderna had a net loss of $1.18 billion, or $3.07 per share. Last year during the same time, they made a profit of $79 million, or 19 cents per share.
Moderna expects to make about $4 billion in sales for the whole year 2024, including revenue from its new vaccine. But they only expect $300 million of that to come in the first half of the year since respiratory viruses usually peak in the latter half.
The second quarter will include some of the doses from their deal with Brazil for 12.5 million Covid vaccines, which they announced recently.
Moderna aims to start growing its sales again in 2025 and to break even by 2026 when it launches new products. Jamey Mock mentioned that they are more pleased with the productivity improvements they’ve made than with the higher sales of their COVID-19 vaccine.
The company’s cost of sales dropped by 88% to $96 million compared to last year. This includes $30 million for unused COVID-19 vaccine doses and $27 million in charges for reducing their manufacturing.
Research and development expenses decreased by 6% to $1.1 billion. That’s because they paid fewer partners this year and spent less on clinical trials for their COVID-19, RSV, and flu vaccines.
Selling, general, and administrative expenses went down by 10% to $274 million. This reduction is partly because they invested in digital tools and used AI to make their operations more efficient.
