Moderna’s financial woes continue as layoffs loom

USA – Moderna has reported significant losses in its fourth-quarter earnings for 2024, with revenues much lower than the previous year.

The company is continuing to adjust in a post-pandemic market, but CEO Stéphane Bancel remains optimistic about long-term growth.

Speaking alongside the financial results, Bancel said Moderna is poised to improve its commercial performance moving forward.

In its fourth-quarter report, Moderna posted US $966 million in revenue for the quarter and US $3.2 billion for the entire year.

While these numbers were below the previous year’s figures of US $2.81 billion in Q4 2023 and US $6.8 billion for the year, the company still exceeded analysts’ expectations for the quarter’s sales, which were forecasted at US $941 million.

However, Moderna’s losses were higher than expected, with a per-share loss of US $2.91, compared to the anticipated US $2.68 loss.

Overall, the company saw a US $1.1 billion net loss in the quarter, a significant reversal from the US $217 million net profit in Q4 2023.

The larger-than-expected losses were driven by high costs, including US $739 million in sales costs, which covered third-party royalties, inventory write-downs, and wind-down expenses.

Additionally, Moderna had to absorb a US $238 million non-cash charge from a terminated manufacturing contract.

Looking ahead, Moderna has projected revenue for 2025 to be between US $1.5 billion and US $2.5 billion, a forecast that analysts believe represents a 33% decline year-on-year, driven by increased competition, pricing pressures in the U.S., and a drop in vaccination rates.

Myriad challenges

Amid these challenges, the company also plans to reduce its workforce by laying off about 50 employees from its digital team, representing roughly 10% of the roles in its two digital departments.

Despite a significant decline in its COVID-19 vaccine sales, which remain its primary revenue source, Moderna’s total COVID-19 vaccine sales for the quarter were US $923 million, down 66% from the previous year.

The company attributes this to the earlier launch of its updated vaccine in 2023, which shifted sales to the third quarter.

Moderna’s newly approved respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine, mRESVIA, generated US $15 million in the quarter, below the expected US $23 million.

Analysts believe RSV sales will be modest in 2025 until further guidance is received from the CDC regarding additional shots.

Further complicating matters, the FDA has placed a clinical hold on a Phase III study for Moderna’s norovirus vaccine after a report of Guillain-Barré syndrome.

However, the company believes this delay will not significantly affect the timeline for the study’s results.

Despite these setbacks, Bancel highlighted that Moderna’s cost-saving efforts have been successful, reducing expenses by 27% compared to 2023.

The company plans to continue its cost-cutting measures into 2025, aiming to save an additional US $1 billion.

Looking to the future, Moderna has set an ambitious goal of delivering up to 10 product approvals by 2027, with key developments expected in 2025, including pivotal data for vaccines targeting seasonal flu, cytomegalovirus, and norovirus.

The company is also hoping for approval of its next-generation COVID-19 vaccine and plans to expand its RSV vaccine to adults aged 18 to 59.