Moderna expects shrinking revenues despite strong quarterly results

Moderna's outlook for the current fiscal year is marked by waning demand for their main product to date, the Covid-19 vaccine. CEO Stephane Bancel has announced a continuation of the contraction plan for 2024 but remained undaunted in adhering to the company's objectives. The year 2023 has been described as a phase of adjustment in which the company had to cope with the decline in demand. These adjustments led to a significant reduction in production capacities and the distribution of the Covid vaccine, which in turn contributed to write-downs amounting to billions and a considerable loss of $4.7 billion. This contrasts with the previous year when Moderna could record a profitable conclusion of nearly $8.4 billion. This also highlights the different situation compared to Pfizer, which, despite a decline in their own Covid vaccine in 2023, still generated a profit of $2.1 billion. In the annual report, Moderna published total revenues of around $6.8 billion, representing a decline of more than two-thirds. The surprising final quarter, with a profit made instead of the expected loss and higher revenues for the Covid vaccine Spikevax than predicted by the market, nevertheless provided a positive drive in the stock market. However, the forecast remains that revenues will decline by another 40 percent to $4 billion for the year. Hope for Moderna lies in the expansion of its product portfolio. Expectations are particularly high for the vaccine against Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), for which market approval is hoped for in the first half of the year. Further developments in the areas of infectious diseases, cancer research, and rare diseases contribute to the positive perspective. With several important studies in the current year, Moderna aims to continue to invest targetedly and cost-consciously in their research pipeline and prepare for future market launches.