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Investing.com-- CSL Ltd (ASX:CSL) shares tumbled on Tuesday after the Australian biopharmaceutical giant said the demerger of its Seqirus unit will now happen later than initially planned amid heightened volatility in the U.S. influenza vaccine market.
CSL slid as much as 17% to A$176.23, its lowest level since December 2018. The stock was the biggest weight on the ASX 200, which fell 0.3%.
CSL Chairman Brian McNamee told shareholders at the company’s annual general meeting that while the company remained committed to spinning off Seqirus, it was no longer targeting a completion of the demerger in 2026 due to sluggish U.S. influenza vaccine sales.
“Given the heightened volatility in the current US influenza vaccine market, we have concluded that advancing with the previously proposed demerger timing will not fully capture Seqirus’ value potential,” McNamee said.
McNamee added that CSL will reconsider the timing of its demerger when it was confident in market conditions.
The company flagged heightened uncertainty over the U.S. vaccine market, and that influenza vaccination rates in the country were declining steadily. CSL said that uncertainty over U.S. vaccines reduced its profitability expectations for 2027 and 2028.
Doubts over U.S. vaccine rates come as the Donald Trump administration rolled out big changes to federal policies, including curbing access to COVID-19 vaccines.
Trump and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have also signaled interest in examining unfounded links between vaccines and autism in children.
Data from the Center for Disease Control, released in July, showed U.S. vaccination rates in children had fallen steadily in the 2024-2025 school year.