US pharma major Pfizer Inc expects to earn $15 billion, or about a quarter of its total revenue this year, from the sales of its coronavirus vaccine, co-developed by German partner BioNTech SE, the company said on Tuesday.
In releasing its fourth-quarter earnings, Pfizer also forecast 2021 sales between $59.4 billion and $61.4 billion. The company raised its full-year earnings guidance to between $3.10 to $3.20 from $3 to $ 3.10 earlier.
Pfizer aims to make two billion doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in 2021 though it is unsure if it will actually sell all those doses.
Pfizer Chief Executive Albert Bourla said the company wanted to be conservative in its target and is working on numerous initiatives to exceed that output
Pfizer said it has shipped 65 million doses so far, including 29 million to the United States. The company expects to have delivered 200 million doses to the United States by the end of May.
In the fourth quarter, Pfizer’s revenue rose 12 percent to $11.68 billion from $10.44 billion during the same quarter last year. Pfizer, like other COVID-19 vaccine makers, has been struggling to meet the demand for shots.
