Shares of Australian biotech major CSL plunge to 8-year low after CEO departure, weak earnings

Shares of Australian biotech firm CSL plunged to an 8-year low Wednesday after it announced the exit of Paul McKenzie as chief executive officer, and posted weak earnings for the first half of its fiscal year.

Shares fell 17% to 151.3 Australian dollars, their lowest since February 2018.

Senior executive Gordon Naylor, who has been with the company for 33 years, has been appointed as interim CEO, effective Wednesday, until a permanent replacement is found.

CSL on Wednesday reported its net profit after tax plunged 81% year on year to $401 million for the six months ended December, as the drugmaker booked one-off restructuring costs and asset impairments. Revenue dropped 4% to $8.3 billion.

The company said it was also impacted by government policy changes, but did not elaborate on that in its earnings release.

“We are clearly not satisfied with our performance and have implemented a number of initiatives to drive stronger growth going forward,” said Ken Lim, CSL’s chief financial officer.

The company, one of the world’s largest producers of flu vaccines, had a market cap of $58.9 billion as of Tuesday, data from LSEG showed. It highlighted that the seasonal influenza vaccine market in the U.S. was expected to fall by 6%-8% due to lower immunization rates.

CSL said it expects results to improve in the second half of the year and kept its full-year outlook unchanged, forecasting modest growth in revenue and profit. The company also expanded its share buyback program by $250 million to $750 million.

Headquartered in Australia, CSL operates globally, with major operations across the United States, Europe and Asia. Its stock fell about 39% last year.