[Click eStock] "Green Cross Confirms Business Structure Improvement... Growth Options Expanded"

IBK Investment & Securities Maintains Investment Rating and Target Price

On January 27, IBK Investment & Securities maintained its 'Buy' investment rating and a target price of 220,000 won for Green Cross Corporation, citing confirmation of business structure improvement and expanded growth options.

Green Cross Corporation's consolidated operating results for the fourth quarter showed revenue of 497.8 billion won, up 12.9% year-on-year, and an operating profit of 4.6 billion won, successfully turning profitable. The operating profit significantly exceeded the company's estimate of 2 billion won. Jeong Isu, a researcher at IBK Investment & Securities, analyzed, "This is attributable to robust overseas sales growth of Aliglo, a high-margin congenital immunodeficiency treatment, and improved profitability due to cost efficiency across subsidiaries."

However, a one-off impairment loss of approximately 80 billion won was recognized as a result of the fair value reassessment of goodwill assets identified during the merger of GC Labcell and GC Cell at the end of 2021, leading to a net loss of 99.2 billion won for the period. On an annual basis, last year's consolidated revenue reached 1.9913 trillion won (+18.5%), and operating profit was 69.1 billion won (+115.3%), achieving both top-line growth and improved profitability.

Green Cross Corporation has been evaluated as having secured mid- to long-term growth engines by accelerating clinical trials across its core pipeline. Researcher Jeong stated, "The key product Aliglo is expected to complete phase 3 clinical trials for pediatric patients this year, and with a high likelihood of approval for label expansion early next year, it is projected to contribute to the goal of reaching 300 million dollars in sales by 2028." He added, "For the varicella vaccine Varicellaju, the company plans to complete phase 3 clinical trials in Thailand and Vietnam next year to transition from a single-dose to a two-dose regimen in line with global guidelines, which is expected to drive additional growth after 2028."

In addition, Green Cross Corporation is conducting clinical trials for candidate substances targeting rare genetic diseases. Researcher Jeong explained, "The candidate substance for Sanfilippo syndrome treatment is currently in phase 1 clinical trials in both the United States and Korea, with results expected this year. As Sanfilippo syndrome currently has no commercialized treatment, this pipeline is being developed as the next-generation product for entry into the US market following Aliglo."