Celltrion Achieves Record Quarterly Operating Profit of 301 Billion Won in Q3

Sales Up 16.3% and Operating Profit Up 44.9% Year-on-Year

Celltrion announced in a disclosure on the 21st that it recorded provisional consolidated sales of 1.026 trillion won and operating profit of 301 billion won for the third quarter of this year. Compared to the same period last year, sales increased by 16.3% and operating profit by 44.9%, achieving the highest third-quarter sales and the highest quarterly operating profit in the company's history. The operating margin also reached 29.3%, continuing a clear trend of performance improvement.

Aerial view of Celltrion Plant 2 in Songdo, Incheon. Photo by Kim Hyunmin

The strong performance in both sales and operating profit is attributed to stable sales of major products across global markets, as well as the expanded sales of newly launched, high-margin products.

New high-profit products such as 'Remsima SC' (ingredient: infliximab, subcutaneous injection) drove overall sales growth, recording a 51% increase in sales compared to the same period last year. The sales proportion of these high-profit products rose from 42% in the third quarter of last year to 54% in this year's third quarter, significantly contributing to improved profitability. Notably, 'Stoboclo-Osenbelt' (ingredient: denosumab), newly launched in the United States, and 'Omriclo' (ingredient: omalizumab), newly launched in Europe during this third quarter, together recorded over 50 billion won in combined sales in their first quarter of release, demonstrating successful market entry.

This quarter's results also show clear signs that the impact of the previous merger with Celltrion Healthcare is nearing completion, raising expectations for accelerated growth. The most notable indicator is the cost of goods sold ratio, which dropped by 9 percentage points year-on-year to 39%, successfully entering the 30% range. This improvement reflects not only the resolution of merger-related effects but also a combination of positive factors, including the depletion of previously high-cost inventory, improved production yield, and the end of development cost amortization. As structural improvements in cost ratios continue, further cost reductions and increased operating profit are expected to accelerate going forward.

Celltrion's performance growth is expected to continue beyond the end of this year and into next year. The company plans to further drive performance growth by launching additional high-profit new products, such as 'Aidenzelt' (ingredient: aflibercept) and 'Stoboclo-Osenbelt', in major global markets by the end of the year. As the product portfolio expands with these launches, marketing synergies with existing products are expected to intensify, further accelerating the growth of all products currently on sale.

The recent signing of a contract to acquire Eli Lilly's biopharmaceutical manufacturing plant in Branchburg, New Jersey, is also expected to have a positive impact by eliminating tariff risks and allowing the company to focus on sales capabilities. Through this acquisition, Celltrion will be free from all potential tariff risks in the United States and, by signing a CMO (contract manufacturing organization) agreement with Lilly, will secure a local production base and a powerful new growth engine. Plans are in place to quickly expand facilities for major product manufacturing on the available land within the acquired plant, which is expected to further accelerate Celltrion's future growth.

A Celltrion spokesperson stated, "With the effects of the merger largely resolved as of the third quarter, we expect to achieve a new level of performance growth through a normalized cost of goods sold ratio and the resulting expansion of operating profit. By launching additional high-profit new products in major global markets such as Europe by the end of this year, we will make company-wide efforts to further accelerate sales growth and performance improvement."

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