'Clearly not satisfied': CSL shares tank on HY result, shock CEO exit
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More news: CSL shares plunged in early trade after the biotech group posted an 81% drop in first-half net profit and announced the shock exit of CEO Paul McKenzie on Tuesday.
Shares were down 11.5% to $151.68 at 10:30am AEDT. The stock is now down more than 40% over the last 12 months.
Citi analyst Laura Sutcliffe said CSL's full-year guidance is now at risk of not being met, after first-half sales missed consensus estimates by 2%, and underlying profit by 4%.
What they said: "While we made strong progress on the transformation program, we're clearly not satisfied with our first half results," said CSL chair Brian McNamee during an earnings call on Wednesday morning.
"Our first-half performance was also adversely impacted by government policy changes and one-off costs associated with our transformation program and asset impairments."
CSL profit plunges 81% on write-downs, pins hopes on second-half growth
The news: Biotech giant CSL reported an 81% plunge in half-year net profit to USD401 million ($567 million), hurt by one-off restructuring costs and impairments.
Excluding those, net profit after tax for the six months 31 December fell 7% to USD1.9 billion. Revenue fell 4% to USD8.3 billion, hurt by government policy changes.
The company is maintaining its 2-3% revenue growth guidance in 2026, as well as growth in net profit after tax (excluding on-off restructuring costs and impairments) of 4% to 7%.
It declared an unfranked interim dividend of USD1.30 a share, unchanged from the USD1.30 it declared a year earlier.
What they said: "We are clearly not satisfied with our performance and have implemented a number of initiatives to drive stronger growth going forward," Chief Financial Officer Ken Lim said in a statement.
"In the second half, we have an ambitious growth plan, driven by immunoglobulin (lg), albumin and our newly launched products."
CSL Seqirus is expected to post a weaker second-half result due to normal flu season patterns and a one-off revenue boost last year, while CSL Vifor will remain under pressure from generic competition, the company said.
The context: The result comes just hours after CSL announced the immediate departure of Paul McKenzie as CEO, less than a year into the role.
CSL senior executive and non-executive director Gordon Naylor was appointed interim CEO and MD.
The source: ASX release
