NEW YORK (CNBC) - Pfizer projects it will generate record-high revenue in 2022, saying it expects to sell $32 billion of its COVID-19 shots and $22 billion of its antiviral coronavirus treatment pill Paxlovid this year.
However, the company posted mixed fourth-quarter results, beating on earnings but missing on revenue. Pfizer’s stock was down more than 5.7% in morning trading.
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said sales of Paxlovid could be higher than the company’s guidance, but the expectations are based on deals signed or close to being signed. Angela Hwang, head of biopharmaceuticals, said Pfizer is an active discussion with over 100 countries around the world on Paxlovid.
Pfizer’s miss on revenue was driven by lackluster sales in its internal medicine and hospital segments. Fourth-quarter internal medicine sales fell 3% year-over-year to $2.24 billion, while hospital sales were largely flat at $1.88 billion. Pfizer’s oncology sales expanded 7% to $3.24 billion compared with the year-earlier period.
However, Pfizer’s fourth-quarter revenue more than doubled overall to $23.84 billion year-over-year, driven by $12.5 billion in sales of its COVID vaccine. The company’s antiviral pill that fights COVID, Paxlovid, contributed $76 million in U.S. sales during the fourth quarter. The Food and Drug Administration gave the pill emergency approval in December.
On an unadjusted basis, Pfizer’s fourth-quarter profit increased more than fourfold to $3.39 billion from $847 million during the same three months in 2020. Pfizer expects $98 billion to $102 billion in sales for 2022, and adjusted earnings per share of $6.35 to $6.55.