Biohealth Manufacturing Sales Up 7.9% in Q1... Growth Slows

Growth of the Biohealth Industry Slows in Q1
Pharmaceuticals and Cosmetics See Lower Growth Rates
Medical Devices Show Slight Improvement
Profitability Recovers Despite Slower Sales Expansion
Financial Stability Remains Strong Compared to Overall Manufacturing Sector

The growth of the biohealth industry-including pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and cosmetics-showed signs of slowing in the first quarter of this year.

According to an analysis by the Korea Health Industry Development Institute of the business performance of 320 biohealth industry manufacturers, these companies recorded sales of 14.1687 trillion won in the first quarter, a 7.9% increase from the 13.1345 trillion won posted in the same period last year.

The sales growth rate for the first quarter declined from the previous quarter's 11.3%, indicating a moderation in the growth trend. The sales growth rate is calculated as the increase in current quarter sales compared to sales from one year earlier, and is compared to the previous quarter to assess the expansion of company size.

Comparing the sales growth rate by manufacturing sector in the first quarter of this year to the fourth quarter of last year, medical device companies saw an increase from 1.2% to 2.8%, up by 1.6 percentage points. However, the pharmaceutical sector declined from 14.0% to 8.8%, and cosmetics fell from 10.7% to 8.7%.

Nevertheless, the first-quarter sales growth rate of the domestic biohealth industry remained higher than that of the overall manufacturing sector, which stood at 2.8%.

The operating profit margin based on sales for biohealth manufacturers in the first quarter was 10.7%, up from 8.8% a year earlier. For pharmaceutical manufacturers, the operating profit margin rose from 7.3% in the fourth quarter of last year to 10.8% in the first quarter of this year, while cosmetics increased from 9.4% to 11.2%. In contrast, the medical device sector saw a decrease from 13.6% to 9.4% over the same period.

The pre-tax net profit margin for biohealth manufacturers also improved, rising from 11.3% in the first quarter of last year to 12.3% in the first quarter of this year, signaling a recovery in profitability.

In the first quarter, these manufacturers maintained a debt ratio of 38.6% and a borrowing dependency ratio of 10.2%, similar to the previous quarter's 37.8% and 10.4%, respectively. Compared to the overall domestic manufacturing sector's debt ratio of 68.5% and borrowing dependency of 19.9% in the first quarter, the financial status of the biohealth industry is generally considered stable.

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