Bukwang Pharm, Q1 "Separate Profit Turnaround, Consolidated Loss Continues"

Bukwang Pharmaceutical held an earnings presentation on the 23rd and announced that its first-quarter performance on a separate basis turned profitable, with sales of 34.029 billion KRW and operating profit of 2.059 billion KRW. The operating profit margin was recorded at 6.2%.

Headquarters of Bukwang Pharmaceutical in Dongjak-gu, Seoul [Photo by Bukwang Pharmaceutical]

However, on a consolidated basis, sales were 34.393 billion KRW, and an operating loss of 1.628 billion KRW was maintained. It was explained that the deficit narrowed compared to the operating loss of 4.686 billion KRW in the same period last year.

At the earnings presentation, Bukwang Pharmaceutical explained that it improved profitability in the first quarter through selection and concentration. The prescription growth rate of major managed items recorded 3.9%, higher than the competitive market growth rate, and sales also recovered, contributing to the overall sales increase.

Additionally, it is expected that the announcement of the Phase 2 clinical trial results of JM-010, a Parkinson’s disease dyskinesia treatment developed by its Denmark-based subsidiary Contera Pharma, will be made in mid-year, and in the second half, the domestic sales of Latuda, a treatment for schizophrenia and bipolar depression, will become visible, positively impacting external growth and profitability improvement.

Kim Seong-su, Head of Management Strategy at Bukwang Pharmaceutical, stated, “Bukwang Pharmaceutical experienced the pain of recording its first operating loss since its founding, but after continuous improvement efforts, it achieved a turnaround to profit on a separate basis in the first quarter of this year. This result is due to a comprehensive restructuring of the transaction structure focused on profitability, and improvements in performance and key indicators are expected this year.”

Following this, Kim Ji-heon, Head of Research and Development, who presented on clinical development, said, “Please look forward to the clinical results of Bukwang Pharmaceutical’s main pipeline, the Parkinson’s disease dyskinesia treatment, which will be announced mid-year. The investment in clinical development costs, which was the biggest factor in the consolidated loss, is also expected to bear fruit along with the results of multiple pipelines to be announced this year.”