MELBOURNE, March 13, 2026, 09:33 AEDT
CSL Ltd dropped to a 52-week low on Thursday, with shares finishing at A$141.04, down 1.08% for the session, market data showed. Investors shrugged off news of the Australian biotech’s $1.5 billion boost to its U.S. plasma operations and its fresh regional flu-vaccine agreement earlier this week.
Investors haven’t forgotten February’s blow: CSL took a sharp hit to first-half profit, racked up hefty impairments, and swapped out its chief executive. Despite talk of new contracts and capacity, the stock has slid 18.31% this year. The market’s focus remains on whether CSL’s earnings can actually bounce back—not just on an expanding project pipeline.
CSL finished Thursday at A$141.04, extending losses from A$144.56 on Tuesday and A$142.58 on Wednesday, based on price data. The slide marked a subdued run across three sessions.
CSL broke ground March 9 on a major expansion at its Kankakee, Illinois plant, which produces plasma-derived therapies and albumin, the blood protein for critical care use. The company expects the site to be up and running by 2031, with the project bringing at least 300 new jobs. CEO Gordon Naylor called the facility a “key hub in our supply network.” Global Newsroom | CSL
Just one day on, CSL Seqirus announced a long-term deal with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to deliver flu vaccines throughout Latin America, working alongside Sinergium Biotech. The partners are putting $10 million toward tech transfer and local vaccine fill-and-finish operations in Argentina. Lorna Meldrum, an executive at CSL Seqirus, described the move as a “landmark partnership.” Global Newsroom | CSL
CSL lands squarely in the industry mix with its Illinois expansion. Just this week, Reuters said drugmakers like Pfizer, Roche, and Merck are ramping up U.S. manufacturing as Washington eyes sharp tariffs on imported branded drugs. For CSL, building more capacity in the U.S. may strengthen its supply story in the long run. Still, investors want something more immediate: they’re watching for that impact to hit earnings.
Scepticism hasn’t exactly come out of nowhere. Back in February, Reuters quoted David Tuckwell, chief investment officer at ETF Shares, who called Naylor’s hire a “salvage mission.” He saw the board as scrambling to steady the vaccine unit—long a drag on the share price. CSL shares had already plunged around 39% in 2025, marking their sharpest annual slide since 2002. Reuters
The worry? This week’s announcements might not move the short-term numbers much. Citi flagged after the half-year results that CSL’s guidance leaves “little margin for error.” Seqirus is contending with a sluggish U.S. vaccine market, Vifor is feeling pressure from generics, and most of the responsibility in the second half could land on Behring’s shoulders. Reuters
ASX filings on Friday didn’t bring any fresh operational drivers. CSL adjusted its interim dividend’s Australian-dollar conversion—locking in an AUD amount of A$1.809829 per share, with April 9 confirmed as the payment date. The company also filed for quotation of 167,561 new ordinary shares related to its employee incentive plan.
