After a year of impairments, revenue downgrades and the ousting of its chief executive officer, Australian plasma and vaccine specialist CSL provided signs of recovery on Tuesday.
In its fiscal 2026 report, CSL projected mid-single-digit growth in the 2027 period for its largest sector, CSL Behring. While it’s not the double-digit growth the plasma unit realized in FY24 and FY23, it’s at least a reversal from last year, when sales were down by 1% to $11.1 billion.
The main catalyst for Behring is a return to growth in the immunoglobulin (Ig) market, where CSL expects sales to increase by mid-to-high single digits after a year in which they were flat. Three months ago, CSL slashed its FY26 Ig sales projection in the United States by $300 million, blaming excess inventory. But on Tuesday, the company said that Ig demand increased by 7% year over year.
CSL also expects to see continued uptake of hereditary angioedema (HAE) treatment Andembry, which accounted for sales of $240 million in the fiscal year, exceeding the company’s expectations. The FDA signed off on the monoclonal antibody in June of last year following approvals in Europe, Japan and the U.K.
CSL’s financial presentation and FY27 outlook were in contrast to its quarterly report three months ago when it revealed a $5 billion asset impairment charge, which came on top of a $2.1 billion write-off earlier in the fiscal year.
In May, the drugmaker also slashed its overall revenue projection from $15.8 billion to $15.2 billion, helping fuel a 16% free fall in its share price. But on Tuesday, CSL reported its overall sales at $15.8 billion. While it was a 1% decline in constant currencies and the company expects overall revenue to be flat in FY27, it was apparently a pleasant surprise to investors, as the company’s share price increased by more than 17% on Tuesday morning.
“I’m pleased to report in the intervening weeks, we’ve been able to maintain momentum to stabilize the company’s performance, restore the cadence and focus of the leadership team and start to deliver results,” interim CEO Gordon Naylor said on a conference call, adding that FY26 was a “reset year.”
Naylor, who took over in February after the abrupt departure of three-year CEO Paul McKenzie, Ph.D.—and who said on Tuesday that he is not a candidate for the permanent CEO role—added that the “actions that put us back on the path to sustainable growth started well before my appointment.” Those actions included slashing its workforce by 15%, a cost-cutting measure that CSL revealed in September of last year.
Still haunting CSL is its ill-fated 2022 acquisition of Swiss iron deficiency and kidney disease specialist Vifor Pharma for $11.7 billion. Most of the $7.1 billion in impairments from FY26 are attributed to the declining value of Vifor. CSL has projected the unit’s sales to decline by 25% in FY27.
Naylor cited headwinds affecting Vifor, including the European Union’s decision to revoke the marketing authorization for the Amgen-partnered rare disease drug Tavneos and generic competition in the U.S. and Europe for iron. In FY26, CSL’s iron sales were down 16%.