Analysts are looking to CSL’s results briefing on Thursday for insights on the pandemic’s longer-term effects on the collection of plasma, the yellow liquid blood product behind the company’s specialist product suite.
In the ASX statement, Mr Perreault said the firm’s “plasma collections have been adversely affected during the pandemic. To combat this, we have implemented a number of initiatives to increase plasma collections and introduced a customer fulfilment process to ensure the equitable distribution of medicines to patients.”
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CSL has been in the spotlight recently for its role in manufacturing 50 million doses of AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine for the Australian market.
On Thursday, the company said it was proud of its part in this process, but noted the work on vaccine projects had resulted in “significant opportunity costs” to standard business operations and meant research and development projects have had to be rescheduled.
The company anticipates an increase in R&D spending in the June half as projects which had been rescheduled due to the pandemic are built back to scale.
CSL maintained its forecast for the full financial year that net profit would rise about 8 per cent to between $US2.17 billion and $US2.27 billion.
The firm will pay an interim dividend of $US1.04 per share.
More to come.
