Bugwang Yakpum Posts First-Ever 200 Billion Won in Revenue Since Founding... Operating Profit Jumps 775%

"Results of Structural Improvement in Business Fundamentals"

Bukwang Pharmaceutical has surpassed 200 billion won in annual sales for the first time, achieving its highest performance ever.

On the 9th, Bukwang Pharmaceutical announced through its earnings release and research and development (R&D) conference call that on a consolidated basis last year it recorded sales of 200.7 billion won and operating profit of 14.1 billion won. Compared with the previous year, sales increased by 25.4% and operating profit by 775.2%. On a separate basis, sales also grew 6.1% year-on-year to 167.3 billion won, but operating profit edged down to 16.1 billion won due to higher marketing expenses.

Exterior view of Bukwang Pharmaceutical headquarters in Dongjak-gu, Seoul. Bukwang Pharmaceutical

The strong results were driven by the growth of its main product portfolio and the performance of its subsidiaries. In particular, Dexid and Thioctacid, treatments for diabetic neuropathy, led the earnings by posting a 43% sales growth rate. In addition, the central nervous system (CNS) division, bolstered by the antipsychotic new drug Latuda, grew 90% year-on-year, far outpacing the market’s average growth rate of 7.4%.

Chief Executive Officer Lee Jaeyoung of Bukwang Pharmaceutical said, "We achieved solid results even on a separate basis, which clearly demonstrates that Bukwang Pharmaceutical’s core business competitiveness has been strengthened," adding, "This is not just a short-term improvement in earnings, but the visible result of structural improvement in our fundamentals."

Regarding the performance of the new drug Latuda, Lee commented, "It is not easy for a pharmaceutical company to develop a new field," but added, "Powered by the new drug Latuda, Bukwang Pharmaceutical is driving sales growth of other products and rapidly establishing CNS as a core business area." To sustain Latuda’s growth, the company recently submitted a phase 3 clinical trial plan to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety for label expansion into depressive disorder and expects approval within the first half of the year.

In the research and development (R&D) segment as well, subsidiary Contera Pharma’s progress has been notable. Contera Pharma is accelerating the entry of its Parkinson’s disease treatment CP-012 into phase 2 clinical trials, while also proving its technological capabilities through a joint research agreement with global pharmaceutical company Lundbeck. Lee said, "Since signing the agreement with Lundbeck, interest from global pharmaceutical companies in Contera Pharma’s ribonucleic acid (RNA) platform has been increasing," adding, "At the end of next month, I plan to visit Japan to hold meetings with two global pharmaceutical companies and explore potential collaboration." He continued, "We are working to sign an additional agreement of a similar scale to the one with Lundbeck within this year."

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) aimed at securing future growth engines are also progressing smoothly. Bukwang Pharmaceutical is in the process of acquiring Union Korea Pharm in a deal worth about 30 billion won, and the procedure is expected to be completed in early April when the Korea Fair Trade Commission’s business combination review is finalized. Once the acquisition is completed, Bukwang Pharmaceutical is expected to secure production facilities for antibiotics and liquid injectables and expand its overall production capacity by more than about 30%.

Lee said, "Once the acquisition of Union Korea Pharm is completed, we plan to pursue synergies with Bukwang Pharmaceutical," adding, "If we use Bukwang’s sales organization for co-promotion or entrust contract manufacturing to raise utilization rates, I believe Union Korea Pharm can turn profitable within this year." He also expressed confidence that "starting next year, it will begin to make a full-fledged contribution to expanding Bukwang’s consolidated results."

Of the 89.3 billion won raised through last year’s paid-in capital increase, Bukwang Pharmaceutical plans to allocate 30 billion won to the acquisition of Union Korea Pharm and another 30 billion won to strengthening production capabilities, including automation of the Ansan plant. The remaining 27 billion won will be invested in R&D, including new drug development and pipeline in-licensing. Lee stated, "We are investing most of the funds in expanding production capacity, which is the most important purpose of the capital increase," and added, "By expanding a portfolio of highly marketable new products and broadening our production infrastructure, we aim to grow into a top-20 pharmaceutical company in Korea by 2030."

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