Staff reporter and agencies
China's CanSino Biologics (6185) reported a 69.5 percent drop in revenue for the first six months versus a year ago, joining global and domestic Covid-19 vaccine makers affected by waning demand for their shots.
The decline from 2.06 billion yuan (HK$2.34 billion) to 629.8 million yuan was mainly driven by weaker Covid vaccine demand, as growth in global uptake slowed and prices of CanSino's products changed.
CanSino, which sells a one-dose shot in countries including China and Mexico and is seeking approval for an inhaled version of the vaccine, said half-year net profit dropped by 98.7 percent year-on-year.
Its shares slumped 13.5 percent to HK$53.2 yesterday.
Another Chinese Covid vaccine producer Sinopharm (1099) said its interim net profit rose 3.1 percent to 3.69 billion yuan and its revenue climbed 4.96 percent to 261 billion yuan. But the growth of both figures has significantly slowed down also due to the weaker demand for jabs against the coronavirus, compared to the jump of 23.44 percent in net profit and 22.26 percent in revenue for the first half of 2021.
Earlier this month, US-based Novavax halved its full-year revenue forecast amid a global supply glut and soft demand, while the German BioNTech reported a 40 percent drop in second-quarter revenue and net profit but said its upgraded shots to be used in booster campaigns would increase demand in autumn.
