Contract manufacturer Catalent, Inc. ( NYSE: CTLT ) stretched recent gains to add ~5% pre-market Tuesday after announcing an agreement with Moderna ( NASDAQ: MRNA ) to extend its pandemic-era collaboration.
The company made the announcement with its Q2 FY23 results days after Bloomberg reported that life sciences company Danaher ( DHR ) had shown takeover interest in acquiring the Washington-based company at “a significant premium.”
According to Catalent ( CTLT ), Moderna ( MRNA ) has agreed to include multiple products in multiple formats as part of a broader collaboration.
The products will be manufactured at Catalent’s ( CTLT ) North American and European biologics drug product facilities on top of the fill/finish services and production capacity the company provides to Moderna ( MRNA ) for its COVID-19 programs.
The companies plan to extend the partnership to non-COVID-19 programs such as flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines, starting with operations at the company’s Bloomington, Indiana facility.
As for financials, Catalent ( CTLT ) reported $1.1B in net revenue for the quarter, indicating a ~7% YoY drop on a constant currency basis. Net revenue from the Biologics segment fell ~7% YoY to $580M, and Pharma & Consumer Health segments added $570M with ~3% YoY growth.
Meanwhile, the adjusted net income dropped ~25% YoY to $122M as adj. EBITDA fell ~9% YoY to $283M.
“...we are improving efficiency with the restructuring actions that we have executed recently, and we are bringing a renewed focus on efficiency across our organization as a whole,” Chief Executive Alessandro Maselli remarked.
Seeking Alpha author Zach Bristow issued a Buy rating on Catalent ( CTLT ) in January, arguing that despite near-term COVID-related headwinds, “we see scope for CTLT to unlock long-term value for shareholders.”
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Catalent gains amid buyout chatter as Moderna extends COVID partnership