(Recasts and adds market comment)
April 9 (Reuters) - Australian plasma and vaccine specialist CSL Ltd CSL.AX said it was standing by profit guidance for the current business year due to strong demand for its products amid the coronavirus pandemic.
It expects $2.11 billion to $2.17 billion in net profit attributable to shareholders for the year to end-June 2020, up from $1.92 billion a year earlier.
Shares in CSL were 1.5% higher in late morning trade, giving the blood products giant a market capitalisation of A$143.6 billion ($89 billion).
The Melbourne-based firm said that at present there is no interruption to its supply chain and that its facility in Wuhan, China has resumed operations. Plasma collections, however, are like likely to experience disruptions due to restrictions on people's movements imposed by governments due to the pandemic, it added.
"Whilst there are challenges to the logistics of plasma collection due to CVD 19, investors continue to support CSL and why not. Its share price is up 15% for 2020 whilst the ASX 200 is down 26%," James McGlew, executive director of corporate stockbroking at Argonaut, said via email.
"Whilst the earnings multiple it trades on is lofty, history shows that this is a company that rarely disappoints," he said.
This week, company unit CSL Behring said it was joining hands with Japan's Takeda Pharmaceutical 4502.T and other plasma companies to develop a potential plasma-derived therapy for treating COVID-19.
In a separate announcement, CSL Behring and SAB Biotherapeutics said they had formed a partnership to develop a COVID-19 therapeutic candidate that is on track for clinical evaluation by early summer. ($1 = 1.6111 Australian dollars)