Vaccine maker BioNTech reports higher earnings, citing vaccine

Vaccine maker BioNTech reported boosted earnings in the third quarter, attributing the rise “mainly” to its shots developed with Pfizer, which been given to a majority of fully vaccinated Americans.

The German company said its net profit for the third quarter reached more than $3.7 billion, representing an increase compared to the $3.2 billion net profit recorded during the second quarter. Last year, BioNTech reported a net loss of $243 million during the same period. 

BioNTech estimated its total revenue for 2021’s third quarter amounted to $7.1 billion, while the company reported a $78 million revenue in the third quarter in 2020. 

“The increase was mainly due to rapid increases in the supply and sales of the COVID-19 vaccine worldwide,” it said in its report. 

The vaccine manufacturer’s net profit for the first nine months this year surpassed $8.2 billion, after seeing a net loss of $407 million in the same period last year. 

More than 2 billion doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine have been distributed to more than 152 countries and territories as of last week, BioNTech reported. This includes the 292 million doses delivered in the U.S., according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data. 

The companies expect to make 2.7 billion to 3 billion doses by the end of the year and predict the production of up to 4 billion doses next year.  

BioNTech forecasts vaccine revenue from this year to reach between $18.5 billion and $19.7 billion based on a predicted total of up to 2.5 billion doses this year. 

In recent weeks, the U.S. has authorized the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to be given to children aged 5 to 11 and as a booster shot for certain populations.  

In August, the Food and Drug Administration granted its full approval for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for adults – the first and so far only COVID-19 vaccine to reach full approval. 

BioNTech’s report comes after Pfizer raised its 2021 projections for sales to $36 billion in its third quarter report last week. Moderna, on the other hand, scaled back its predictions for vaccine sales by as much as $5 billion, citing delayed deliveries.