FAST NEWS: CanSino’s revenue plunges as demand dries up for Covid vaccines

The latest: CanSino Biologics Inc. (6185.HK; 688185.SH) announced on Wednesday it recorded a net loss of 1.28 billion yuan ($176 million) in the first half of this year, reversing a 16.04 million yuan profit in the same period of 2022.

Looking up: The company’s other income for the period increased by 36.5% to 93.9 million yuan as a result of investment income from structured deposits, wealth management products and derivative instruments purchased from financial institutions in China, as well as income from government grants and technology transfers.

Take Note: The company’s revenue for the first half of the year plunged 96.7% to 21.09 million yuan on reduced demand for its Covid vaccine and a 237 million yuan provision for returned Covid vaccines.

Digging Deeper: Founded in 2009 as a vaccine manufacturer, CanSino was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in March 2019 and on the Shanghai STAR Market in August 2020. The company has multiple Covid vaccines, including an inhaled vaccine, and an injected vaccine, Convidecia, using recombinant adenovirus carrier type 5 technology. That vaccine’s conditional approval in China and subsequent big sales of the product helped the company to record a net profit of more than 1.9 billion yuan in 2021. But demand for Covid vaccines has plunged recently as the pandemic recedes, significantly reducing CanSino’s revenue and returning it to the red since the second half of last year.

Market Reaction: CanSino’s Hong Kong shares fell on Thursday to close down 5% at HK$23.05 by the midday break, a new 52-week low.

Translation by A. Au

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