Blood products group in the red as 'reset year' sets in

An Australian blood plasma giant has posted its first annual loss, after writedowns, restructuring costs and falling vaccine rates weighed on its bottom line.

CSL's bottom-line net loss came in at an eye-watering $US2.6 billion ($A3.7 billion) for 2025/26, plummeting from a $US3 billion profit the year before.

Total revenue fell one per cent to $US15.8 billion ($A22.2 billion), highlighting the impact of $US7.1 billion in pre-tax writedowns, mostly linked to its CSL Vifor kidney treatment and iron deficiency business.

Vifor has struggled against generic competition and regulatory shifts since its 2022 acquisition by CSL.

CSL's Behring business, which makes medicines to treat conditions including bleeding disorders, immune deficiencies and angioedema, had its revenue fall one per cent to $US11.4 billion, despite a 7.2 per cent uplift in the second half.

Interim chief executive Gordon Naylor, who replaced ousted boss Paul McKenzie in 2025, said considerable work remained, but the company was making progress.

"Financial year 2026 has been a reset year for CSL," Mr Naylor told an earnings call on Tuesday.

"The actions that put us back on the path to sustainable growth started well before my appointment and have been delivered with intention and urgency."

The result could be a turning point after a disastrous two years for the company, which has been hit by a near 70 per cent share price plunge, a series of downgrades and a major restructure.

Headwinds fuelling the earnings slump included weaker albumin demand in China, falling influenza vaccination rates in the US, and disappointing Vifor returns due to fierce competition from generic medicines.

Still, the result beat consensus estimates across revenue and earnings, prompting investors to send CSL's share price more than 16 per cent higher to $157.77 - its best level since February.

While management's description of the year as a reset was fair, etoro analyst Josh Gilbert doesn't expect CSL to return to full growth in 2026/27.

"It paid $US11.7 billion ($A16.5 billion) for Vifor back in 2022, so knocking a big chunk off that price and cutting the sales outlook at the same time is the company admitting the growth never arrived," he said.

"Things are looking cleaner, but Vifor will keep dragging on group growth well past this year."