Access Bio Reports Q3 Operating Profit of 20.2 Billion Won... "Increased Diagnostic Demand"

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] Access Bio announced on the 15th through a public disclosure that it achieved significant growth in sales and operating profit in the third quarter of this year.

Consolidated sales for the third quarter increased by 296% year-on-year to 41.7 billion KRW, operating profit rose about 10 times to 20.2 billion KRW, and net profit increased sevenfold to 19.4 billion KRW.

Due to the impact of vaccine supply and the CDC's recommendation to get tested if COVID-19 symptoms appear, diagnostic demand was sluggish in the second quarter compared to the first quarter. However, the resurgence of variant COVID-19 infections this fall significantly increased diagnostic demand, driving the improvement in third-quarter performance. In October, the company announced a single sales supply contract for diagnostic kits worth 39.8 billion KRW, accounting for 95% of the third-quarter performance, continuing the upward trend.

In the United States, despite sufficient vaccine supply, vaccination rates have stagnated, and as new confirmed cases do not decrease, vaccine mandates are being attempted. Recently, the Biden administration announced a policy requiring employees of companies with 100 or more workers to either get vaccinated or, if unvaccinated, undergo diagnostic testing at least once a week, leading to a sharp increase in demand for self-testing kits.

An Access Bio official stated, “With the current significant increase in demand for COVID-19 diagnostic kits, the COVID-19 diagnostic market is returning to a supply-driven market. The company believes that even if the COVID-19 situation stabilizes, basic diagnostic demand will remain steady, and preparations are underway accordingly.”

He added, “We are diversifying the market by exporting professional antigen diagnostic kits to Oceania and South America, and beyond diagnostic kits, we plan to develop business capabilities from a new perspective for stable long-term growth, such as digital healthcare platformization for COVID-19.”

Access Bio received emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in early August for the so-called 'home kit,' a COVID-19 antigen self-test kit that can be purchased directly online/offline without a prescription.

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