(Reuters) -Moderna reported a bigger-than-expected quarterly loss on Friday, hit by a charge related to its efforts to scale down manufacturing amid weakening demand for its COVID-19 vaccine.

The company reported a quarterly loss of $2.91 per share, compared to analysts' expectations of a $2.68 per share loss, according to data compiled by LSEG. The company posted a profit of 55 cents per share last year.

Finance chief James Mock in an interview attributed the loss to a $238 million non-cash charge related to the termination of its agreement with a contract manufacturer.

"As we looked at our manufacturing footprint, we believed we did not need that particular (manufacturer) and tried to eliminate the potential waste related to that capacity," he said, declining to identify the manufacturer.

The company's shares were down about 3% in premarket trading.

Moderna first announced it would start scaling down manufacturing of its COVID-19 vaccine, Spikevax, in late 2023, including at Lonza's facility in Switzerland, as part of a larger cost-cutting effort that reduced the cost of sales by 47% to $1.5 billion last year.

The vaccine maker plans to keep lowering expenses this year, saying in January that it would cut cash costs by $1 billion, as well as by an additional $500 million in 2026. It also slashed its 2025 sales forecast by $1 billion at that time.

Moderna's stock fell nearly 60% last year as sales of its COVID-19 vaccine crashed from their peak during the pandemic and its respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) shot got less uptake than expected.

Shares of Moderna, along with other vaccine makers, dropped further this year as lawmakers advanced President Donald Trump's pick for Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy, through Congress. Kennedy, a vaccine critic, was confirmed to the role on Thursday.

Moderna's total revenue fell nearly 66% to $966 million for the quarter, but beat analysts' expectations of $942.84 million. Sales included $923 million for the company's COVID shot and $15 million for its RSV vaccine.

The company said the decrease was mostly due to the earlier launch of its updated COVID-19 vaccine in the U.S., which shifted sales into the third quarter, but also due to lower international sales.

Cash, cash equivalents and investments at the end of 2024 totaled $9.5 billion, Moderna said.

The company said it expected approval for use of its RSV vaccine in high-risk adults aged 18 to 59 years old later this year.

(Reporting by Mariam Sunny and Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru, and Patrick Wingrove in New York; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)