Moderna Reports Surprise Profit in Q3

By Patrick Wingrove

(Reuters) – Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) reported a surprise third-quarter profit on Thursday, driven by cost-cutting and higher-than-expected sales of its COVID-19 vaccine, despite low revenue from its new respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) shot.

The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company posted a profit of $13 million, or 3 cents a share, for the quarter, compared to a loss of $3.6 billion a year ago. Analysts had expected a loss of $753 million, or $1.90 a share, according to LSEG data.

Moderna's Spikevax COVID vaccine brought in sales of $1.8 billion, up 3.5% over the previous year and exceeding analysts' average expectations of $1.38 billion. The company experienced increased sales in the U.S. following an earlier launch of its COVID vaccine this year.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved updated versions of Spikevax and competing vaccines Comirnaty from Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX) nearly three weeks earlier than in 2023.

"We shipped more in the early days and ensured all healthcare providers had access to COVID vaccines," said Chief Financial Officer James Mock in an interview.

Sales of Spikevax outside the U.S. were lower than the same period in 2023 when sales benefited from orders deferred from 2022, according to Moderna.

The company reported expenses for the quarter at $1.93 billion, which was nearly 50% lower than the previous year, partly due to reduced unused manufacturing capacity and fewer inventory write-downs.

Sales of Moderna's new RSV vaccine mRESVIA reached $10 million, significantly below the $135 million that analysts had anticipated, according to LSEG data.

Moderna had hoped to generate revenue from newer mRNA shots, like mRESVIA and an experimental COVID-flu combination vaccine, as post-pandemic demand for COVID products declines.

"We were not able to compete during the heart of the contracting season because (mRESVIA) was approved in May," Mock said. "Many of the contracts were already established, along with a substantial amount of inventory with customers already."

U.S. market share for Spikevax was 40%, down from 45% in Q3 of 2023, Moderna reported.

Mock stated approximately 7.5 million patients had received Spikevax this year, while nearly 11 million people received Pfizer's COVID shot in the same timeframe, according to IQVIA data shared by an analyst.

Moderna confirmed that CEO Stephane Bancel will step down from his role as the company's chief commercial officer, with President Stephen Hoge taking charge of sales and medical and research affairs.

The company announced promotions for executives Jacqueline Miller and Rose Loughlin to chief medical officer and executive vice president for research, respectively.

Moderna reaffirmed its sales expectations for the year, between $3 billion and $3.5 billion. It also adjusted the upper end of its 2024 cost of sales forecast to 40%-45% of product sales from 40%-50%.

The company remains on track to file for approval this year of its combined COVID-influenza vaccine, RSV shot for high-risk adults aged 18 to 59, and its next-generation COVID vaccine.

Furthermore, Moderna plans to utilize priority review vouchers to expedite FDA applications for its COVID and RSV vaccines, but not for the combination vaccine.