(Adds Moderna cancellation fee in paragraph 5, 2023 outlook in paragraph 6, background on Lonza and biotech supply industry from paragraph 7)

Oct 17 (Reuters) - Swiss contract drug manufacturer Lonza cut its 2024 margin target again, following the abrupt departure of its CEO last month, citing a decline in business from vaccine maker Moderna and Kodiak Sciences .

In a statement on Tuesday, Lonza said that the margin of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), adjusted for one-offs, over sales would be in the "high 20s" next year.

In July, the company had lowered its operating profit margin target for 2024 to 31%-33% from 33-35% previously.

The company, which is holding a capital markets day on Tuesday, added that it was targeting an improvement in the operating profit margin to a range of 32% to 34% in 2028.

Thanks to a likely termination fee of about 200 million Swiss francs ($222 million) from Moderna, which cancelled an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing contract on lack of demand, Lonza lifted its guidance for this year.

Currency-adjusted sales growth will be at the higher end of the "mid-to-high single-digit" percentage targeted previously and the adjusted EBITDA margin would be above the previous target range of 28% to 29%.

The stock has been down since Lonza cut its 2023 earnings outlook in July, citing weak demand for capsules for dietary supplements and warning that biotech customers were pursuing fewer projects in early stage drug development and in cell and gene therapy.

Shares took a further hit when CEO Pierre-Alain

Ruffieux

quit in September. The company said at the time it would update investors on its medium-term outlook this month, weighing on investor confidence about the group's earnings prospects.

Chairman Albert Baehny has taken on CEO responsibilities until the appointment of a permanent successor to Ruffieux.

Analysts have said that higher interest rates are dampening investors' appetite for risky

biotech

drug development ventures, compounding a decline in coronavirus-related activities. That is impacting Lonza as well as laboratory gear makers such as Sartorius and Merck KGaA.

Last week, French drug ingredients maker

EuroAPI

slashed its 2023 profit guidance, saying biotech firms were putting development projects on hold and drugmakers were running down inventories rather then ordering new materials.

Sartorius last week

cut

its 2023 sales and margin guidance for the second time this year, citing muted demand from customers in China and the United States. ($1 = 0.9016 Swiss francs) (Reporting by Ludwig Burger, Editing by Rachel More and Kim Coghill)