[Click eStock] "Access Bio expects to achieve 1 trillion KRW in sales in the first half"

Hana Financial Investment Report

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] Hana Financial Investment on the 17th projected that Access Bio is likely to achieve sales of 1 trillion KRW in the first half of the year due to explosive growth in the first quarter.

Access Bio is a rapid diagnostic test manufacturing company established in 2002. Its main products include rapid diagnostic tests for malaria and COVID-19 self-test kits. It is the only domestic company with a production plant for COVID-19 self-test kits in the United States, with an annual production capacity of 480 million units.

In the first quarter of this year, the company's sales reached 806 billion KRW, and operating profit was 384.7 billion KRW, increasing by 257.1% and 113% respectively compared to the same period last year. These results exceed last year's annual sales of 505.1 billion KRW and operating profit of 206.1 billion KRW.

Researcher Dohyun Kim of Hana Financial Investment explained, "This is due to strong sales of COVID-19 self-test kits amid the spread of the Omicron variant in the US in the first quarter," adding, "Sales continue mainly through 22 US distribution channels and public institutions, and steady demand for self-test kits in the US is expected in the second quarter as well." US company Abbott also raised its diagnostic kit sales forecast for this year from 2.5 billion USD to 4.5 billion USD during its first-quarter conference call.

Overall sales for this year are expected to reach 1.3674 trillion KRW, and operating profit 631.2 billion KRW, representing increases of 168% and 142% respectively compared to the previous year. Having local production facilities in the US allows steady response to public institution demand, and there is anticipation of a positive impact from possible additional COVID-19 support budgets by the US government.

Researcher Kim analyzed, "Long-term growth through mergers and acquisitions is also expected," stating, "The company holds net cash exceeding 700 billion KRW in the first quarter of this year and is considering mergers and acquisitions of companies such as electrocardiogram medical device firms and AI-based new drug development platform companies, positioning itself for momentum in the mid to long term."

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