The CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL) share price will be one to watch closely today.

That's because the biotechnology giant has just released its half year results.

Let's see how the widely followed company reported.

CSL share price on watch following results release

• Revenue up 5% in constant currency to US$8.48 billion
• Net profit after tax up 7% in constant currency to US$2.04 billion
• NPATA up 5% in constant currency to US$2.11 billion
• Reported NPATA up 3% to US$2.07 billion
• Interim dividend of US$1.30 per share

What happened during the half?

For the six months ended 31 December, CSL reported a 5% increase in constant currency revenue to US$8.48 billion.

The main driver of this top line growth was its key CSL Behring business, which reported a 10% increase in revenue to US$5.74 billion. This reflects a 15% jump in immunoglobulin (Ig) product sales to US$3,174 million, a 9% lift in Albumin sales to US$672 million, and an 11% increase in Haemophilia sales to US$731 million. Offsetting some of this was a 5% sales decline in specialty products.

Positively, the company revealed that its plasma collections continue to grow with the cost of collections decreasing. The roll out of the new RIKA plasmapheresis devices in the US is well advanced and on track to complete by June 2025. Furthermore, the individualised nomogram has been implemented and is delivering the planned benefits.

Looking to other segments, the CSL Seqirus business reported a 9% decline in sales to US$1.66 billion for the half. This reflects significantly low immunisation rates, particularly in the United States, which have impacted the broader influenza vaccine market.

Finally, CSL Vifor sales were up 6% to US$1.08 billion for the six months. This was driven by continued volume growth for iron products in Europe, despite generic competition, and strong Tavneos growth across all markets.

Profit growth

On the bottom line, CSL reported a 7% increase in net profit after tax in constant currency to US$2.04 billion and a 5% lift in NPATA in constant currency to US$2.11 billion.

This allowed the CSL board to declare an interim dividend of US$1.30 per share, which is the equivalent of A$2.08 per share in local currency. This is a 16% increase on the prior corresponding period.

CSL's CEO and Managing Director, Dr. Paul McKenzie, said,

CSL delivered a solid result for the first half of the 2025 financial year led by CSL Behring. Strong demand for many of our market-leading therapies has translated into sales growth, particularly in our core Ig franchise. We continue to advance key initiatives to improve gross margin, which is tracking according to our plans.

How does this compare to expectations?

This result appears to have fallen short of expectations, which could potentially be bad news for the CSL share price today.

Goldman Sachs was forecasting total revenue of US$8.66 billion and NPATA of US$2.27 billion (+2.2% vs consensus). Whereas it reported revenue of revenue of US$8.48 billion and constant currency NPATA of US$2.11 billion.

Though, it is worth noting that management has reaffirmed its guidance for FY 2025, so you could argue that CSL has delivered on its own expectations.

Outlook

For FY 2025, revenue growth is anticipated to be approximately 5% to 7% over FY 2024 at constant currency.

CSL's NPATA for FY 2025 is forecast to be in the range of approximately US$3.2 billion to US$3.3 billion at constant currency. This represents growth of approximately 10% to 13% year on year.

Management spoke positively about the future and its belief that double-digit earnings growth is possible over the coming years. It said:

The fundamentals of CSL's underlying business units are robust and CSL is in a strong position to deliver annualised double-digit earnings growth over the medium term. CSL's therapies continue to be valued by patients and healthcare systems around the world, as demonstrated by the continued growth of our core Ig franchise and the solid uptake of new product launches by CSL Vifor.

CSL Behring will continue to focus on improving our gross margins, which will be aided by the expected completion of the RIKA roll-out across CSL Plasma by the end of the financial year.