The Covid vaccine and pill became Pfizer's goose, which laid the golden eggs in 2021 and 2022. The company surpassed the $100 billion revenue mark and broke its profit record in 2022. However, overcoming the pandemic caused the company's collapse, and sales and results were brutal. In fiscal 2023, the pharmaceutical giant's revenue fell 42% to $58,496 million (about 53,900 million euros at current exchange rates), while net profit fell 93% to $2,119 million.
The company led by Albert Bourla even recorded losses of 3,369 million in the fourth quarter, partly due to the returns of its anti-Covid pill. Pfizer said 6.5 million doses of Paxlovid were returned last year, resulting in negative fourth-quarter sales of the drug of $3.1 billion. The drug company had previously said it would receive 7.9 million returned doses, making the number slightly better than expected. Additionally, Pfizer had written down or written down $5.6 billion worth of Covid-related inventory in the third quarter. These two factors put a strain on sales and profits.
The vaccine and the pill against Covid mark the group's accounts and divide them in half. Sales of the vaccine fall year on year from $37,806 to $11,220 million and those of Paxlovid fall by 93%, from $18,933 to $1,279 million. It is of little use that revenue from products that have nothing to do with these two Covid products increased by 7% operationally.
“We are encouraged by the strong results from our non-Covid products in the fourth quarter of 2023, with important contributions from new launches and solid year-over-year growth from several key brands,” Bourla said in a statement. The manager emphasizes that Pfizer has received a record nine new drug approvals from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which he believes will have a positive impact on Pfizer's performance in the coming years.
Pfizer has used some of the additional revenue and profits from anti-Covid products for acquisitions to grow in the future. In December, the group completed the acquisition of Seagen and sees it as a fundamental step towards its goal of achieving global leadership in oncology. “With the combined strength of Pfizer and Seagen’s talents, portfolios and platforms, we believe we have the potential to transform outcomes by delivering cancer medicines that help patients live better and longer,” said Bourla. The company plans to present in detail the results, objectives and strategy of the group's new oncology division at an event scheduled for February 29.
Pfizer expects 2024 sales to be between $58.5 billion and $61.5 billion. This includes about $5 billion in expected revenue from the Covid vaccine (Comirnaty) and another $3 billion from the pill (Paxlovid). In addition, there is approximately $3.1 billion in expected revenue from Seagen and approximately $1 billion related to the reclassification of Pfizer's royalty revenue.
At the same time, the company assures that it is on track to achieve annual net cost savings of at least $4 billion by the end of 2024, as promised.
“We enter 2024 with a solid foundation. “We believe our commitment to execution, maximizing the performance of our new products and delivering the next wave of innovation in the product portfolio will drive Pfizer's growth and make a difference in patients' lives around the world,” Bourla concludes his comments.
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