'1 Trillion Won Sales Club' Pharmaceutical and Bio Companies Show Strong Performance in Q2

Celltrion and Samsung Biologics
Double-Digit Growth in Operating Profit

Pharmaceutical Companies like Yuhan and Green Cross
Recovering Performance After COVID-19 Impact

Celtreon anticancer drug 'Herzuma' finished product process scene. / Incheon Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] Large pharmaceutical and bio companies that joined the "1 trillion won club" in sales last year are expected to continue their growth momentum by posting strong results in the second quarter of this year. Bio companies producing COVID-19 vaccines and treatments recorded their highest quarterly performance, while major pharmaceutical companies sought to recover from last year's deteriorated results.

According to financial information firm FnGuide on the 12th, the second-quarter sales of nine listed pharmaceutical and bio companies that posted annual sales of over 1 trillion won last year are estimated to increase by an average of 14.0% compared to the same period last year. The combined sales for the first half of the year also rose by 17.0%.

Celltrion is expected to achieve nearly 1 trillion won in sales in the first half of this year alone. The securities industry estimates Celltrion's second-quarter sales at 519.9 billion won, up 21.2% year-on-year, and operating profit at 226.3 billion won, up 24.5%. Accordingly, first-half sales are projected to increase by 29.1% year-on-year to 976.9 billion won. Annual sales are also expected to exceed last year's 1.8491 trillion won, reaching 2.3806 trillion won.

Celltrion Healthcare is expected to post second-quarter sales of 443.5 billion won and operating profit of 92.8 billion won, up 5.5% and 6.9% respectively from the same period last year. The combined sales for the first half reached 799.8 billion won, comparable to Celltrion, but operating profit significantly decreased to 124.3 billion won. A Celltrion Healthcare official explained, "Operating profit was limited to 31.5 billion won due to a temporary supply delay of Truxima in the first quarter."

Samsung Biologics announced preliminary results for the second quarter with sales of 412.2 billion won and operating profit of 166.8 billion won, marking an earnings surprise. Both sales and operating profit were the highest quarterly results. With all three plants operating at full capacity, sales and operating profit for the first half grew by 30.7% and 67.8% year-on-year, respectively.

A Samsung Biologics official said, "Following last year's exceeding of the initial sales target of 1 trillion won, we recorded the highest quarterly performance in the second quarter this year. From the third quarter, production of Moderna vaccine drug product (DP) will begin, and the world's largest production capacity plant with 256,000 liters, Plant 4, will start partial operation from the end of the fourth quarter, so growth is expected to continue."

Traditional pharmaceutical companies also appear to be recovering from the COVID-19 shock. Yuhan Corporation posted second-quarter sales of 433.3 billion won, showing a solid sales growth of 4.3%. However, operating profit decreased by 34.3% year-on-year to 23.4 billion won. A Yuhan Corporation official explained, "This is a base effect caused by the milestone technology fee received from Janssen last year in the second quarter related to the non-small cell lung cancer treatment 'Reclaza' (active ingredient: Lazertinib) being reflected in operating profit."

GC Green Cross also saw second-quarter sales increase by 7.7% year-on-year to 387.6 billion won, but operating profit sharply declined by 28.9% to 11.1 billion won. Researcher Lim Yoon-jin of Daishin Securities said, "This was due to a temporary increase in advertising expenses for over-the-counter (OTC) drugs and overseas freight costs," adding, "In the second half, favorable performance growth is expected due to domestic distribution of flu vaccines and Moderna vaccines."

Chong Kun Dang posted second-quarter sales of 326.8 billion won, up 4.3%, but operating profit decreased by 7.2% to 33.7 billion won. This is attributed to increased R&D expenses for new drug development, including entry into Phase 3 trials for Napabeltan.

Daewoong Pharmaceutical recorded its highest-ever quarterly performance with second-quarter sales of 289.7 billion won and operating profit of 18.7 billion won. With combined first-half sales of 559.3 billion won, joining the 1 trillion won club this year is highly likely. A Daewoong Pharmaceutical official said, "The earnings surprise was driven by sales of the botulinum toxin product 'Nabota,' along with record-high sales of prescription drugs (ETC) reaching 200 billion won."

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