[Click eStock] "3Q Success Samsung Biologics, 4Q Moderna Contract Manufacturing Expectations Rise"

Factory Operating Rate Rises... 4Q Moderna Vaccine Sales Expected to Be Reflected

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] Samsung Biologics posted a 'surprise performance' in the third quarter of this year, significantly exceeding market expectations. Growth is expected to continue in the fourth quarter through contract manufacturing of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine.

On the 27th, Yuanta Securities maintained its 'Buy' rating and target price of 1.08 million KRW for Samsung Biologics based on this background. The closing price the previous day was 879,000 KRW.

The third-quarter results this year greatly surpassed expectations. On a consolidated basis, sales reached 450.7 billion KRW and operating profit was 167.4 billion KRW, increasing by 64.2% and 196.1% respectively compared to the same period last year. The market consensus was also exceeded by 9.6% and 26% respectively, marking a 'surprise performance.'

Researcher Mi-hwa Seo of Yuanta Securities explained, "The factory utilization rates reflected in the third-quarter sales were at maximum levels for all three plants. The increase in utilization of the third plant led to a 64.2% increase in sales compared to the same period last year, and the resulting operating leverage effect caused operating profit to increase by 196.1% year-on-year."

Additionally, sales of biosimilar products from Samsung Bioepis also increased. Following the approval for sales of the Lucentis biosimilar (SB11) by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), milestone royalties were received in stages, resulting in equity-method income of 19.6 billion KRW.

In the fourth quarter, growth is expected from sales related to contract manufacturing of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine finished product (DP). On the 25th, Samsung Biologics received Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certification from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. Emergency use authorization was also completed upon request from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. Accordingly, an estimated 2,435,000 doses, presumed to be part of the initial supply, will be distributed domestically. Production facilities for messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccine active pharmaceutical ingredients (DS) are also being expanded.

Researcher Seo said, "Existing orders are expanding in scale, and performance is improving as production efficiency progresses. Expectations remain for early orders at the fourth plant, with discussions underway regarding the start of full-scale production and volume for about 20 products."

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