HLB Pharmaceutical Achieves Record Half-Year Sales... Operating Loss Widens

HLB Pharmaceutical announced on the 14th that its sales in the first half of this year reached 67.6 billion KRW, marking a 60% increase compared to the same period last year.

HLB logo. [Image provided by HLB]

HLB Pharmaceutical explained that the sales growth was driven by the rapid increase in prescription drug sales. The company's sales are divided into prescription drug sales and contract manufacturing (CMO), with the core business unit, prescription drug sales, increasing by 24.2% compared to the same period last year.

The joint health specialty brand 'Kwanchel' is also contributing to HLB Pharmaceutical's growth and enhancing the company's brand value. The joint health functional food 'Kwanchel' has segmented its product line, and since its launch in April, the company stated that sales through online channels and home shopping have been steadily increasing.

Following prescription drug sales, the company is also focusing on strengthening its CMO (contract manufacturing organization) business. After joining the HLB Group in 2020, HLB Pharmaceutical acquired the Hangnam plant using the liquidity secured. This acquisition has increased CMO sales and enabled the company to secure production facilities capable of meeting the growing sales demand. Over the past two years, the company has invested more than 6 billion KRW in bioequivalence (BE) testing, which has helped maintain premium pricing for its core products, thereby strengthening product competitiveness, which is viewed positively.

However, operating losses and net losses amounted to 7.9 billion KRW and 17 billion KRW respectively, both widening compared to the same period last year. HLB Pharmaceutical explained that the losses were due to advertising expenses for Kwanchel being concentrated in the first half of the year, as well as interest and valuation losses related to some convertible bonds. A company representative stated, "Considering the current sales growth of Kwanchel, profitability is expected to gradually improve. Excluding the advertising expenses heavily invested in the first half to strengthen Kwanchel's initial brand awareness, the pharmaceutical business has maintained a steady profit trend since the first quarter."

Jae-hyung Park, CEO of HLB Pharmaceutical, said, "Based on the liquidity secured when joining the HLB Group, the results of facility investments, system improvements, new products, and business expansion are expected to become fully apparent from the second half of the year, enabling us to achieve both external growth and internal stability simultaneously."

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