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(Yicai Global) Dec. 30 — Profit at Sinovac Biotech, a large global supplier of Covid-19 vaccines, plunged 91 percent in the first half from a year ago, as sales of it coronavirus jabs sank.
Net income attributable to common shareholders was USD481.6 million in the six months ended June 30, versus USD5.1 billion in the year-earlier period, the Beijing-based company’s half-year trading report showed yesterday. Sales fell 89 percent to USD1.2 billion.
Sinovac attributed the decline mainly to lower sales of CoronaVac, its inactivated Covid-19 vaccine, as the initial two-dose schedule wrapped up in 2021 and booster shots were given only in some countries such as China this year.
“The Covid-19 pandemic will ultimately end, but the past three years have again demonstrated the importance of vaccination to fight against infectious diseases and the global need to build a resilient health system,” said Chairman and Chief Executive Yin Weidong.
CoronaVac has been approved in more than 60 countries and regions worldwide, with over 2.9 billion doses of the vaccine delivered globally.
Sales of non-Covid vaccines jumped 37 percent to USD176 million in the six months, mainly thanks to broad-based growth, especially in seasonal influenza shots.
Editor: Futura Costaglione
