ST Pharm Posts Q1 Operating Profit of 11.5 Billion Won, Surging 1,025% Year-on-Year

Sales Reach 67 Billion Won, Up 27.7% Year-on-Year

ST Pharm saw significant year-on-year growth in both sales and operating profit in the first quarter, driven by an increase in sales of high-margin products and the strong US dollar.

Aerial view of ST Pharm Banwol. ST Pharm

On April 26, ST Pharm announced that its consolidated sales for the first quarter of this year reached 67 billion won, with operating profit at 11.5 billion won. Sales increased by 27.7% compared to the same period last year, while operating profit surged by 1,024.6% over the same period. Net profit for the quarter was 15.2 billion won, up 2,044.8%.

Despite expanding its research workforce and higher raw material costs, the consolidated operating margin stood at 17.2%, and the standalone margin was 19.3%. ST Pharm expects to maintain its strong performance as seasonality eases. Its overseas CRO subsidiaries also achieved operating profit alongside sales growth, and the company expects them to reach the break-even point (BEP) within the year.

The oligo (oligonucleotide) segment drove the company’s performance. Oligo segment sales grew 7.5% year-on-year to 40.4 billion won. Of this, sales from commercial projects accounted for 27.1 billion won, making up 67% of the oligo division’s total. Shipment of some commercialized items in the first quarter was delayed compared to original plans. However, ST Pharm stated, “These will be recognized as sales in the second quarter, so there is no impact on our annual sales plan.”

The clinical project segment also generated revenue from four projects secured last year, further diversifying the clinical portfolio. As of the end of last month, the oligo order backlog stood at around 340 billion won, with approximately 80% stemming from commercialization projects. The company expects that expanding both commercial and clinical projects will improve sales volatility and enable stable growth.

Sales in the small molecule segment jumped 301.6% year-on-year to 4.6 billion won. Sales from subsidiaries such as CROs rose 41.8% to 10.9 billion won, resulting in an operating profit.

The mRNA segment recorded sales of 900 million won, including revenue from capping-related early-stage research projects and initial sgRNA projects.

The global phase 2a topline results for the AIDS treatment ‘STP-0404’ are scheduled to be announced in the third quarter of this year. Among current contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) projects, the company said there are more than five cases expected to receive new drug approval or indication expansion within three years.

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