Australia’s largest healthcare company CSL posts massive loss after restructuring costs and impairments

Australia’s largest healthcare company has booked a massive full-year net loss of almost $US3 billion ($4.2b) after a major overhaul, with its acting boss declaring “a clear path to return to sustainable growth” had been paved.

CSL’s total revenue for 2025-26 inched one per cent lower to nearly $US15.8b ($22.2b) and its bottom line was deeply in the red on the back of $US7.9b ($11.1b) in restructuring and impairment costs.

But investors applauded the measures, sending the former market darling’s shares more than 17 per cent higher to $157.87 in early trade on Tuesday.

Gordon Naylor, who was appointed interim chief executive in February after the abrupt departure of Paul McKenzie, said CSL was now a simplified business after a “reset year”.

“The actions to put us back on the path to sustainable growth started well before my appointment, and have been delivered with intention and urgency,” Mr Naylor told a conference call.

“There is absolute clarity in the global workforce about the task at hand.”

The company forecast 2026-27 revenue in line with last financial year and underlying net profit growth of about 5 per cent.

Chief financial officer Ken Lim said that as part of restructuring, research and development expenses had been slashed by 13 per cent, and hundreds of millions in savings would be redeployed to targeted investment programs.

In its core plasma business, which operates under the Behring division, under-performing collection centres had been closed and those that remained were so efficient, there had been no reduction in overall collection volumes, Mr Lim said.

“So all directed towards driving down cost per litre,” he said.

At the same time — without giving specific numbers — CSL is projecting mid single digit revenue growth for the plasma business after a one per cent dip in 2025-26.

“The volume of plasma we collect is intended to match the demand that we’re forecasting ... we’ve got quite a number of levers to pull to increase production,” Mr Naylor said.

CSL sought to improve donor scheduling and digital engagement with them, which was “fertile ground for AI applications, an area which we are pursuing vigorously”, he said.

CSL’s Seqirus influenza vaccine division recorded an 8 per cent fall in revenue, reflecting non-recurring revenue in fiscal 2025 relating to the bird flu threat.

But it remained the only global vaccine company to grow seasonal influenza revenue year-on-year “through product differentiation, manufacturing capability, and focused commercial execution”, Mr Naylor said.

The biotech giant is forecasting low single digit revenue growth for the Seqirus business — despite ongoing falls in US vaccination rates — as it increases penetration into new markets.

“We do see the rate of decline (in the US) moderating,” Mr Lim said.

“As we look ahead into the current 2026-27 season, our expectation is that vaccination rates will decline by low single digit, which is considerably slower than where they were a year or two ago.

“As a result of that, the US business we expect to be broadly flat, with the growth being driven by the ex-US markets.”

Iron-therapy company Vifor, which CSL acquired in 2022 for $US11.7b ($16.46b), had a 3 per cent revenue lift but is forecast to be a major weight this financial year, with revenues expected to plunge 25 per cent.

That’s due to competition from generic products, the European Union revoking marketing authorisation for its vasculitis treatment Tavneos and the conclusion of a US government payment to dialysis facilities for its Velphoro drug.

Mr Naylor said the search for a permanent chief executive was progressing to plan and there was impressive talent on CSL’s shortlist.

CSL, established as a Federal Government department in 1916 then privatised in 1994, has lost billions in market value over the past year, its share price slumping well below $100 in June after a string of earnings misses and writedowns.

It was the biggest company on the ASX in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, when its shares soared to over $300.