Dong-A ST, Slight Sales Growth to 590.1 Billion KRW Last Year... Operating Profit Down 55% (Comprehensive)

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] Dong-A ST recorded a slight increase in cumulative sales last year, reaching 590.1 billion KRW. However, operating profit decreased by 54.5% compared to the previous year, and net profit also dropped by 85.9%.

Dong-A ST announced on the 8th that its provisional operating results for the fourth quarter of last year showed sales of 149.933 billion KRW and an operating loss of 4.861 billion KRW. Sales increased by 16.9% compared to the same period last year. Although an operating profit turnaround was initially expected, the company remained in the red. However, the loss was significantly reduced compared to the operating loss of 16.254 billion KRW in the same period last year. The net loss was 15.177 billion KRW, which was larger than the 14.449 billion KRW loss in the same period last year.

The cumulative sales for last year recorded 590.124 billion KRW, a 0.6% increase compared to the previous year (586.577 billion KRW). However, operating profit and net profit were 15.492 billion KRW and 3.894 billion KRW respectively, down 54.5% and 85.9% compared to the previous year.

The company explained that although sales in the ethical pharmaceutical (ETC) sector increased, the slight growth was due to a decrease in overseas exports and sales in the medical devices and diagnostics sectors. The decline in operating profit was attributed to increased selling and administrative expenses from research and development (R&D) costs and the establishment of an online marketing platform, as well as increased export costs.

Sales in Dong-A ST’s ETC sector grew by 7.0%, driven by the growth of key products including in-house developed drugs Motilitone, Suganon, Grotropin, and imported items such as Gaster, Jublia, and Idalbi. However, overseas export sales decreased by 3.2% due to a reduction in tuberculosis drug exports caused by a decline in government-led bidding markets and a decrease in canned Bacchus exports to Cambodia due to the impact of COVID-19. The medical devices and diagnostics sector experienced a 13.9% decline in sales, attributed to the termination of contracts for some products.

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