Pharmaceutical Bio Industry, Expecting Improvement in 'Q1 Report Card'

Most Listed Pharmaceutical and Bio Companies Expected to See Sales Increase Compared to Last Year

Major domestic pharmaceutical and bio companies are expected to receive improved results in the first quarter of this year compared to last year. In the first quarter of last year, some damage was inevitable, especially for traditional pharmaceutical companies, due to restrictions on offline sales activities caused by the spread of COVID-19, but the atmosphere is gradually recovering from the crisis. However, this year, the fortunes of companies are still expected to vary depending on COVID-19 variables.

◆ Celltrion siblings "Performance expectations" = According to financial information company FnGuide on the 22nd, sales in the first quarter of last year are expected to increase compared to the same period last year for 8 out of 10 listed pharmaceutical and bio companies that exceeded annual sales of 1 trillion won last year. The listed pharmaceutical and bio companies that joined the 1 trillion won club last year are ▲Celltrion ▲Celltrion Healthcare ▲Yuhan Corporation ▲GC Green Cross ▲Korea Kolmar ▲Chong Kun Dang ▲Samsung Biologics ▲Seegene ▲Hanmi Pharmaceutical ▲Daewoong Pharmaceutical. Among them, most companies except Korea Kolmar and Hanmi Pharmaceutical are expected to see increases in sales and operating profit compared to the first quarter of last year.

Celltrion is expected to record sales of more than 500 billion won in the first quarter alone, ranking first in the pharmaceutical and bio industry. The market consensus for Celltrion's first quarter is sales of 518.9 billion won, up 39.2% year-on-year, and operating profit of 195.7 billion won, up 62.9%. Until March this year, Celltrion received a recommendation for use before marketing authorization from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for the COVID-19 antibody treatment Regkirona, and achieved European approval for the Humira biosimilar 'Uplima.' However, the first quarter results have not yet fully reflected the 'Regkirona effect.' Donggeon Lee, a researcher at Shinhan Financial Investment, said, "From the third quarter, Regkirona's full-scale entry into the European market through Celltrion Healthcare is expected," adding, "Therefore, sales of 16.9 billion won from initial volumes are expected in the first quarter, and annual sales of 523.5 billion won are forecast for this year."

◆ Seegene and Samsung Biologics also showed good results = Seegene and Samsung Biologics, which surpassed annual sales of 1 trillion won for the first time last year, are also performing well this year. Seegene's first quarter sales and operating profit are estimated to increase about threefold year-on-year, reaching 352.3 billion won and 215.7 billion won, respectively. The operating profit margin is also expected to approach 60%. The global COVID-19 situation is expected to have a significant impact on Seegene's performance this year. Although vaccination is accelerating, if the spread of COVID-19 continues, the strong performance of the diagnostic device sector, Seegene's main business, is expected to continue. Samsung Biologics also received performance forecasts of 306.5 billion won in sales and 82.8 billion won in operating profit for the first quarter. Compared to the previous year, sales improved by 47.9% and operating profit by 32.3%.

Daewoong Pharmaceutical, which concluded the 'Botox lawsuit' in the United States last February, is expected to turn a net profit in the first quarter. The estimated first quarter performance is sales of 238.7 billion won and operating profit of 9.3 billion won. The securities industry expects that with the conclusion of the U.S. lawsuit, litigation costs, which were about 35 billion won last year, will decrease to less than 5 billion won this year.

On the other hand, Hanmi Pharmaceutical is expected to see a decline in performance compared to last year. Sales are forecast to decrease by 0.6% year-on-year to 286.4 billion won, and operating profit is expected to fall by 9.2% to 26.1 billion won. The prolonged COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected Hanmi Pharmaceutical's performance. Hyemin Heo, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, explained, "Due to the impact of COVID-19, sales in the respiratory and antibiotic sectors are expected to decline," adding, "Depending on the FDA approval of Rolontis in the U.S. around mid-year, the business environment is expected to improve in the second half of the year."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.