Half of Earnings Announcement Companies See Operating Profit Increase
Samsung Biologics Records Highest Ever Sales and Operating Profit
First in Domestic Industry to Surpass 3 Trillion Won in Sales
Stock Market: "High Expectations for This Year's Performance"
[Asia Economy Reporter Myung-hwan Lee] Bio and healthcare companies are raising expectations for strong performance this year, following last year's success.
According to financial information firm FnGuide on the 7th, as of the 6th, a total of 31 companies in the pharmaceutical, bio, and medical equipment and services sectors listed on the KOSPI and KOSDAQ markets announced their preliminary consolidated earnings for last year. Among them, 14 companies showed an increase in operating profit compared to the previous year. During the same period, 25 companies reported increased sales.
Samsung Biologics posted the highest sales and operating profit among companies that announced results by this date. Samsung Biologics recorded consolidated sales of 3.0013 trillion KRW and operating profit of 983.6 billion KRW last year, achieving its best-ever performance. It became the first domestic pharmaceutical and bio company to surpass annual sales of 3 trillion KRW. A Samsung Biologics official explained the strong performance was due to "expanded orders, increased plant utilization rates, and growth from the consolidation of Samsung Bioepis as a subsidiary."
Boryung also broke its record for best performance. Boryung's sales last year increased by 21% year-on-year to 760.5 billion KRW, and operating profit rose by 37% to 56.6 billion KRW. A Boryung representative said, "This was thanks to a stable profit structure built on a portfolio of specialty drugs focused on chronic diseases." Earlier, on the 25th of last month, Humedix, which announced its individual financial results for last year, also recorded its highest-ever performance. Additionally, based on operating profit, Samil Pharmaceutical (1105.30%), JVM (76%), and Osstem Implant (56.7%) achieved growth compared to the previous year.
In contrast, 17 bio and healthcare companies reported decreased operating profits or losses (either turning to losses or continuing losses). Considering that 31 companies announced preliminary results as of the 6th, more than half of the companies experienced a decline in operating profit compared to last year. Companies such as CJ Bioscience (-33.2 billion KRW), Chong Kun Dang Holdings (-33 billion KRW), and SillaJen (-24 billion KRW) recorded operating losses last year. Six companies also saw a decrease in sales compared to the previous year.
Industry and securities analysts generally have high expectations for the performance of bio and healthcare companies this year. Geun-hee Seo, a researcher at Samsung Securities, said, "Major academic conferences are scheduled this year along with clinical trial result announcements for key domestic pipelines," adding, "There are momentum factors such as the mid-year decision on insurance listing for the autoimmune disease treatment 'Humira' biosimilar, so interest in the healthcare sector is expected to remain strong."
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