(Reuters) – Pfizer on Friday cut its full-year revenue forecast by about 13% and began a $3.5 billion cost-cutting program amid lower-than-expected sales of its COVID-19 vaccine and treatment.
The drugmaker now said it expects 2023 revenue of $58 billion to $61 billion, down from a previous forecast of $67 billion to $70 billion. It said the reduction was only due to low expectations on its Covid-19 products.
The cost cuts, which target at least $3.5 billion in savings by the end of 2024, will include layoffs, the company said, without detailing how many jobs would be cut or in which locations.
Shares of the New York-based company were down about 7 percent in extended trading.
As Pfizer agreed to return 7.9 million doses purchased by the US government, Pfizer lowered its forecast for sales of its antiviral covid treatment Paxlovide by $7 billion, including a $4.2 billion cash revenue reversal. It previously expected Paxlovide’s revenue to be around $8 billion for the year.
The company cut its full-year revenue forecast for the covid vaccine it shares with German partner BioEntech by $2 billion due to lower-than-expected vaccine volumes.
(Reporting by Michael Ehrman in New Jersey and Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Bill Berchtott)
