The CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) share price has struggled to deliver shareholder value in 2021, with a year-to-date return of about 2.05%.
With August reporting season on the horizon, what should investors look out for in the company's results?
All eyes on plasma collections
In CSL's annual report to shareholders, it said "at the origins of our value chain, plasma donors fuel our pipeline …".
Plasma collections form the backbone of many CSL treatments including its immunoglobulins business, which contributed approximately 43% of the group's 1H21 revenue.
The last time CSL updated the market on its plasma collections was February, when the company released its FY21 half-year results.
It advised "plasma collections adversely impacted by COVID-19" and that collection volumes in December 2020 were roughly 80% of the December 2019 volumes.
The company launched multiple initiatives in an attempt to drive plasma collection figures. This included enhanced targeted marketing, improving the donor experience and the rollout of 29 new collection centres in FY21.
The CSL share price will be put to the test as to whether or not these initiatives are paying dividends.
CSL competitor notes recovery in plasma collections
The Motley Fool has previously covered observations of a plasma donation recovery in the United States.
Grifols, a US$14 billion Spanish multinational biotech company has observed some improvements in the plasma collections space.
In the company's quarterly results on 4 May, it said, "In the United States, plasma donations are gradually recovering. Of note was the trend observed in January, February and April in the wake of the country's vaccination rollouts and the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, while taking into account the mitigating effect of stimulus incentives issued in March and December."
CSL share price tumbles on seemingly good results in February
It can be difficult to get a read on how the CSL share price will perform after the release of its full-year results on 18 August.
Looking back, the company delivered seemingly positive half-year results on 18 February with a 15% increase in revenue to US$4,911 million and a 44% jump in net profit after tax (NPAT) to US$1,248 million.
CSL acknowledged that COVID-19 had "tempered the performance of CSL Behring whilst boosting the performance of Seqirus".
The company reaffirmed its (NPAT) guidance of US$2,170 million to US$2,265 million for FY21, which represents an increase of 3.2% to 7.7% on FY20 figures.
The CSL share price closed at $289.00 on 18 February and tumbled from there. It hit a year-to-date low of $246.00 on 8 March. The shares have since rallied to a year-to-date peak of $305.52, which it reached on 18 June.
At the time of writing today, the CSL share price is $290.53, up 1.94%.
