HLB Pharmaceutical Turns Operating Profit Positive in Q1... Strengthening 'Solid Management'

HLB Pharmaceutical announced on the 13th that it achieved sales of 33.451 billion KRW and an operating profit of 1.215 billion KRW in the first quarter of this year.

Since joining the HLB Group in 2020, HLB Pharmaceutical has been growing rapidly every year by streamlining operations and production in its existing pharmaceutical business, while also securing new growth engines such as new drug development and health supplements.

Sales increased in both the prescription drug division and the contract manufacturing division. Profitability also improved through cost structure enhancement by increasing the conversion of consigned products to in-house production and the stable market establishment of the joint health brand ‘Quancel’.

The prescription drug division, which grew more than 25% last year, continues to show solid growth in the first quarter of this year. As market demand for representative consigned products such as Gas Myeong-su increased at the Hyangnam plant, the profit structure improved. Successive bioequivalence tests on major items such as Rosuduo raised the conversion rate of products from contract manufacturing to in-house production.

Last year, through large-scale marketing of the joint health brand Quancel, the company secured high recognition in the joint health and functional food sector and established itself in the market. It is expected to improve its cost structure starting this year. Quancel surpassed 10 billion KRW in sales in its first year of launch last year. It emerged as a promising product in the aging society and contributed to strengthening HLB Pharmaceutical’s brand value. Cost reductions in various areas, including reducing consignment sales commissions for prescription drugs, also laid the foundation for turning a profit.

Park Jae-hyung, CEO of HLB Pharmaceutical, said, "Based on the liquidity secured after being acquired by the HLB Group, we have made bold investments over the past few years to secure growth engines," adding, "With structural improvements made across the business, the profit trend is expected to continue."

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