Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) on Thursday posted a steep loss for the third quarter as the drugmaker recorded a large write-down due to unused doses of its COVID vaccine, its only marketable product.
Moderna’s total revenue for the period topped Wall Street’s expectations, even amid plummeting demand for its shot. Its outlook for next year, however, came in lower than what analysts were projecting.
Loss per share proved to be $9.53, which may not be comparable to the $1.93 per share expected by analysts. Revenue was $1.83 billion vs. $1.40 billion expected
Moderna’s stock is down more than 57% for the year as of Wednesday’s close, putting the biotech company’s market value at roughly $29 billion. They traded lower $4.78, or 6.3%, at the open on Thursday to $71.42.
Moderna posted a net loss of $3.63 billion, or $9.53 per share, for the quarter. That compares with net income of $1.04 billion, or $2.53 per share, reported during the year-ago period.
The company said the loss was primarily driven by $3.1 billion in mostly non-cash charges related to tax allowances and changing its manufacturing footprint. The resizing, which resulted in $1.4 billion in charges during the third quarter, aims to make the company’s Covid vaccine profitable in 2024 and beyond, Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said in a statement.
Cost of sales for the quarter came in at $2.2 billion. That included a $1.3-billion charge for vaccines that have exceeded their shelf life and a contract manufacturing wind-down cost of $500 million, among other costs.
