CSL's Share Price Hits Six-Month High on Guidance Beat

By David Winning

SYDNEY--Shares of pharmaceutical company CSL hit a six-month high as investors signaled confidence that the company's business reset is gaining traction.

CSL issued its maiden earnings guidance for the 12 months ending June 2027, outpacing analyst expectations. It projected 5% growth in underlying net profit, implying an outcome of around US$2.98 billion when currency fluctuations are excluded.

That target beat the US$2.80 billion forecast from Jefferies, which was calculated on a reported basis and therefore sensitive to foreign-exchange volatility.

The stock rose 16% to 156.28 Australian dollars, equivalent to US$111.02.

Breaking out forecasts for individual divisions, CSL said it expects mid-single digit revenue growth in its Behring unit in fiscal 2027, with immunoglobulin growth projected in the mid-to-high single digits. CSL said this performance would be in line with the market.

Behring, CSL's primary business, collects blood plasma to manufacture critical medications.

CSL projected low-single digit revenue growth in the Seqirus vaccines business, which has been weighed down by falling U.S. immunization rates. The company also forecast a 25% drop in Vifor's revenue, citing generic competition in iron products and the revocation of marketing authorization for Tavenos, which treats two rare inflammatory conditions of the blood vessels.

Tavenos is owned by Amgen and licensed in Europe by CSL's Vifor. The European Medicines Agency put Tavenos on notice in June after receiving information that raised questions about the data integrity of the main study supporting the treatment's initial marketing authorization.

RBC Capital Markets analyst Craig Wong-Pan said investors were likely pleased by CSL's performance in immunoglobulin in FY26, along with the better-than-expected guidance. CSL reported revenue growth of 4% from immunoglobulin compared with fiscal 2025, and 14% growth in the second half of the period versus a year earlier.

Write to David Winning at david.winning@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 17, 2026 21:37 ET (01:37 GMT)