BioNTech reports strong first half, expects demand to grow

BERLIN (AP) — BioNTech, which teamed with Pfizer to develop a powerful COVID-19 vaccine, has reported higher revenue and net profit in the first half of the year and expects demand to grow as it releases updated vaccines to target new omicron strains.

The German pharmaceutical company said Monday that revenue hit about 9.57 billion euros ($9.76 billion) in the first six months of 2022, up from nearly 7.36 billion euros in the same period a year earlier. But revenue dropped to about 3.2 billion euros in the second quarter from 5.31 billion euros in April through June of last year.

BioNTech said the dynamic nature of the pandemic has led to changes in orders and revenue but that it expects a strong end to the year. It said it plans to release revamped vaccines tailored to the latest omicron variants as early as October, which could lead to a fall booster campaign.

“With our initiatives around variant-adapted COVID-19 vaccine candidates, we expect an uptake in demand in our key markets in the fourth quarter of 2022, subject to regulatory approval,” Jens Holstein, chief financial officer of BioNTech, said in a press release.

Moderna, another major COVID-19 vaccine producer, also is working on updated versions of its shots to release this fall.

BioNTech expects to report revenue of 13 billion to 17 billion euros from COVID-19 vaccines this year.

The German company’s net profit also was higher for the first half of the year compared with the same period of 2021 — 5.37 billion euros vs. 3.92 billion euros — and lower for the second quarter — 1.67 billion euros vs. 2.79 billion euros.

For partner Pfizer, sales of COVID-19 vaccine and treatment in the second quarter propelled the pharmaceutical giant to the largest quarterly sales in its history. It said last month that it earned $9.9 billion from April through June.

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