Bavarian Nordic shares rise after upbeat earnings 📈

The shares of Danish vaccine company Bavarian Nordic (BAVA.DK) are gaining nearly 7% today after reporting preliminary results for 2022. Despite an increase in research spending, the company raised its forecasts, and results far exceeded analysts' expectations:

• Revenues for the full year 2022 amounted to DKK 3.15 billion, compared to DKK 2,800 to 3,000 billion forecast by the market. They were primarily made up of revenues from smallpox vaccine, JYNNEOS, IMVANEX and IMVAMUNE, which accounted for more than half of revenues, DKK 1.73 billion. This was followed by valor supported by DKK 879 million in revenue from Rabipur and RabAvert vaccines, DKK 299 million from Encepur vaccine sales, DKK 79 million in profit from trading other companies' products, and DKK 164 million in revenue from other medical activities. 
• EBITDA was more or less DKK 329 million, compared to a projected loss in the range of DKK - 200 to 0 million. Cash and cash equivalents at year-end amounted to DKK 1.74 billion, compared to forecasts of well below DKK 1.7 billion. The forecast also assumed a high level of bank debt at the end of 2022 of DKK 600 million, but the bank debt was repaid in the fourth quarter of the year. The improvement in revenues was largely due to high demand for smallpox vaccines. The continued strong performance of the rabies vaccine business also contributed to the improvement.

Paul Chaplin, the company's president and CEO, commented on the results: "Compared to our original forecast for 2022, we nearly tripled our revenue and turned into a profitable business (...) We were expected to burn our cash as we launched two large Phase 3 trials that were driving significant R&D costs. It was a remarkable year and we are very pleased to announce these results, which were made possible primarily by the significant influx of orders for our smallpox vaccine during the year. It is very encouraging that we were able to advance our promising late-stage product line and still achieve such good financial results for the year."Bavarian Nordic (BAVA.DK) shares, W1 interval. Source: xStation5