Rewrites throughout to add details and background

May 11 (Reuters) - Australian biotech firm CSL CSL.AX trimmed its fiscal 2026 earnings and revenue outlook on Monday, citing delays in the payoff from growth initiatives and revenue headwinds from U.S. immunoglobulin inventory normalisation, while flagging $5 billion of non‑cash impairments over the next two years.

The firm's interim CEO, Gordon Naylor, said he had conducted a review of the business after taking on the role in February and that the financial benefits from CSL’s growth initiatives had yet to materialise.

CSL, a former government laboratory that became a stock market darling, also said it expects to recognise about $5 billion in non‑cash, pre-tax asset impairments across fiscal years 2026 and 2027.

It said the additional impairments will include writedowns of CSL Vifor intangible assets, including parts of its product portfolio, as well as under‑utilised property, plant and equipment.

For fiscal year 2026, CSL now expects a net profit after tax attributable, excluding restructuring costs and impairments, of about $3.1 billion on a constant-currency basis, compared with $3.3 billion reported a year earlier.

In August last year, the firm projected its 2026 NPATA to be in the range of $3.45 billion to $3.55 billion, representing growth of about 7-10%.

The company also cut its fiscal 2026 revenue forecast to $15.2 billion on a constant-currency basis, compared with $15.6 billion reported last year.

CSL said its revised revenue outlook reflects an estimated $300 million hit to revenue from U.S. immunoglobulin channel inventory normalisation, about $200 million from lower albumin market value in China, and roughly $150 million from the impact of the Middle East conflict and other headwinds.

It had earlier anticipated group revenue growth of 4-5% for 2026 at constant currency.

The forecast downgrade comes at a time when CSL had already been under sustained pressure amid slowing demand for plasma-derived therapies, higher collection and manufacturing costs, and multiple earnings downgrades over the past year.

Last year, in October , the company cut its NPATA forecast to 4%-7% growth and its 2026 revenue guidance to 2% to 3%, down from a range of 4% to 5%.