After forecasting as much as $3.5 billion in sales for its COVID-19 vaccine, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) lowered its full-year profit prediction and postponed its sales forecast on Tuesday.
For canceling the estimate, the world’s largest healthcare group cited unclear demand and a supply excess of competing shots that have fared significantly better than its single-dose vaccine.
In the first quarter, the vaccine, which is sold at a “not-for-profit” price, brought in $457 million. Due to production difficulties and safety concerns, it underperformed competing for mRNA injections in sales last year.
Pfizer Inc. (PFE.N) expects $32 billion in sales from the COVID vaccine it developed with BioNTech in 2022, while Moderna (MRNA.O) expects $21 billion.
J&J now expects adjusted profit for the whole year to be between $10.15 and $10.35 per share, down from a previous projection of $10.40 to $10.60 per share. Overall sales of $23.43 billion in the first quarter fell short of the $23.61 billion forecast by Refinitiv.
“The little miscalculation came with the COVID-19 vaccination, which, to be honest, met our internal expectations. There was simply a mismatch between how Wall Street expected things to play out over the course of the year “CNBC spoke with Chief Financial Officer Joseph Wolk.
The US Food and Drug Administration halted manufacturing at its contract manufacturer Emergent BioSolutions (EBS.N) in Maryland last year after an inadvertent component mix-up damaged nearly 15 million vaccine doses.
J&J shut down the only plant producing useable amounts of its COVID-19 vaccine late last year, according to the New York Times.
J&J earned $2.67 per share excluding items, exceeding the market’s expectation of $2.56 per share.