Baxter: Revenue +2.4%
2020 revenue: $11,637,000,000
R&D spending down -12.4%
No change in headcount
Baxter’s revenue increase represents the company’s role during the pandemic as it developed a number of COVID-19 treatment devices for adults and children.
The Deerfield, Ill.-based company reported $11.6 billion in sales in 2020, a 2.4% increase from the year prior when it made $11.4 billion. However, the revenue increase is on trend with the company’s year-over-year performance. In 2018, the company logged $11.1 billion in sales to represent a 2.1% revenue growth from 2018 to 2019.
Baxter spent -12.4% less on research and development during the pandemic compared to 2019. It spent $521 million on R&D in 2020 and $595 million in 2019. The drop in spending isn’t far off from how the company trended in the past. In 2018, it spent $655 million on R&D efforts, representing a -9.2% drop in spending between 2018 and 2019.
Baxter announced in April last year that it was looking to hire 2,000 permanent and temporary workers – including 800 in the U.S. – to produce more supplies for treating coronavirus patients. The company’s headcount has remained the same since 2018 with 50,000 reported employees in its annual reports.
“This has been a year like no other. And once again, I want to acknowledge healthcare providers, first responders, caregivers, researchers, and of course, patients who are on the front lines of this daily struggle,” CEO José Almeida said in an earnings call transcribed by The Motley Fool. “I’m deeply grateful to my Baxter colleagues who continue to make a difference, not only battling COVID-19 but across all of the acute and chronic conditions addressed by our broad portfolio.”
Throughout the pandemic, Baxter achieved regulatory milestones to help combat the coronavirus. It received FDA emergency use authorization for its Oxiris filter for treating COVID-19 patients and gained EUA for its HF20 Set and ST Set for continuous renal replacement therapy for low weight patients who can’t tolerate larger extracorporeal circuit volume.
Baxter also won CE mark approval for its Evo IQ syringe infusion system; received FDA clearance for its Altapore Shape bioactive bone graft for bone growth and fusion; won FDA De Novo classification for its Theranova novel dialysis membrane; won FDA clearance for its Homechoice Claria automated peritoneal dialysis system and more.
“In the spirit of our mission, we partnered with three companies to manufacture selected COVID-19 vaccines through our Baxter BioPharma solutions business,” Almeida said. “We’re privileged to work alongside these companies and proud to bring leading-edge contract manufacturing capabilities to the fight against this pandemic. Our results in 2020 demonstrate our commitment to driving performance and reflect the diversity and durability of our portfolio, amid these challenging market conditions.”
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