CSL employees.
William West | AFP | Getty Images
Australian biotech stocks CSL The company fell to an eight-year low on Wednesday after announcing the departure of chief executive Paul McKenzie, and profits for the first half of the financial year were weak.
The stock price fell 17% to A$151.3, the lowest since February 2018.
Gordon Naylor, a senior executive who has been with the company for 33 years, has been named interim CEO, effective Wednesday, until a permanent replacement is found.
CSL said on Wednesday that its net profit after tax fell 81% year-on-year to $401 million in the six months to December as the company recorded one-off restructuring charges and asset impairments. Sales decreased 4% to $8.3 billion.
The company said it was also affected by government policy changes, but did not elaborate on that in its earnings release.
“It is clear that we are not satisfied with our performance and have implemented a number of initiatives to drive strong growth going forward,” said CSL Chief Financial Officer Ken Lim.
The company is one of the world’s largest flu vaccine producers and had a market capitalization of $58.9 billion as of Tuesday, according to LSEG data. The US seasonal influenza vaccine market is expected to decline by 6-8% due to lower immunization rates, it stressed.
CSL said it expects its performance to improve in the second half of this year, leaving its full-year outlook unchanged and expecting sales and profits to increase slightly. The company also expanded its stock repurchase program by $250 million to $750 million.
CSL is headquartered in Australia and operates globally with major operations in the United States, Europe and Asia. The company’s stock price fell about 39% last year.
