(Yicai Global) Aug. 29 -- Shares of CanSino Biologics slumped after the Chinese vaccines developer said revenue and profit plunged in the first half of the year, mainly because of weaker demand for its Covid-19 shot as a result of high vaccination rates.

CanSino [SHA: 688185] fell 15.1 percent in Shanghai today to close at CNY130.60 (USD18.87). Its Hong Kong-listed shares [HKG: 6185] ended 13.5 percent lower at HKD53.20 (USD6.78) each. Its stock has slumped about 85 percent on both markets since climbing to a record high last summer.

Net profit plunged 98 percent to CNY12.2 million (USD1.8 million) in the six months ended June 30, versus CNY937.1 million (USD135.4 million) a year earlier, the Tianjin-based firm said in its latest earnings report released late yesterday. After deducting non-recurring gains and losses, CanSino had a net loss of about CNY56.8 million. Revenue slumped 70 percent to CNY630 million.

CanSino attributed the weaker performance to lower demand for Covid-19 jabs, as vaccination rates at home and abroad are close to saturation, and changes in vaccine prices.

Convidecia, the adenoviral vector vaccine for Covid-19 developed by CanSino, was the first jab to hit the Chinese market conditionally, after receiving regulatory approval in February last year. The vaccine also secured emergency use authorization in many countries.

It was also CanSino’s first product to win sales approval, helping the company post its first profit. Last year, the company had CNY4.3 billion (USD621.5 million) in revenue and CNY1.9 billion in net profit.

CanSino was not the only Covid vaccine developer to suffer in the first half. Kangtai Biological said on Aug. 18 that its revenue rose 64 percent to CNY1.8 billion between January and June from a year earlier, while net profit plunged 64 percent to CNY121 million.

Compared with CanSino’s Covid jab, the one developed by Kangtai was authorized for emergency use in June last year, so the drop in its half-year results was less than CanSino’s.

Editor: Futura Costaglione