PARIS (Agefi-Dow Jones)–Biotechnology company Valneva on Thursday lowered its revenue forecast for this year, as its losses widened more than expected in the first half.
Over the period, the biotech recorded a net loss of 171.5 million euros, compared to a net loss of 86.4 million euros posted a year earlier, mainly due to the operating loss linked to the program Covid-19 which has increased by 55.2 million in the meantime. According to FactSet, HC Wainwright forecast a half-year net loss of 108.5 million euros.
The gross operating surplus (Ebitda) for the first six months of 2022 came out negative at 136 million euros, compared to a negative EBITDA of 80.1 million euros posted for the same period of the previous year .
R&D expenditure decreased in the first half of this year, to 51.9 million euros, compared to 78.7 million in the first half of 2021. “This decrease is mainly due to lower testing costs clinical trials for the chikungunya and Covid-19 vaccine programs, which during the period progressed towards marketing authorization,” the group said in a statement. These expenses should be between 120 and 135 million euros this year, according to Valneva.
Between last January and June, biotech revenue stood at 93.2 million euros, compared to 47.5 million euros in the first six months of 2021. “This increase is attributable to the €89.4 million released from reimbursement liabilities following the out-of-court settlement agreement with the UK government reached in the second quarter of 2022,” Valneva explained.
As of June 30, 2022, the company had cash and cash equivalents of €336.2 million, compared to €346.7 million as of June 30, 2021.
In this context, the managers have lowered their outlook for the 2022 financial year. For the period, they only foresee a turnover of between 340 and 360 million euros, in view of “the current recovery in sales of traveler’s vaccines, the recognition of revenue related to supply contracts with the European Commission and the United Kingdom, and the amendment to the advance purchase agreement with the European Commission for the vaccine against Covid-19 “.
Last month, Valneva still felt able to achieve sales this year at the bottom of a range that ranged from 430 to 590 million euros.
-Dimitri Delmond, Agefi-Dow Jones; +33 (0)1 41 27 47 31; [email protected] ed: ACD
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August 11, 2022 01:31 ET (05:31 GMT)