A factory of Celltrion in South Korea. The biopharmaceutical company saw its second-quarter profit surge more than 77% from a year ago. Photo by Celltrion
July 3 (UPI) — South Korea’s biopharmaceutical company Celltrion said Friday that its sales amounted to $840 million in the second quarter of this year, up 35.2% from a year earlier.
The firm noted that its operating income for the April-June period jumped 77.3% year-on-year to reach $280 million, lifting its operating profit margin to 33% from 25% a year ago.
Celltrion attributed the solid performance to an improved product mix and lower manufacturing costs. In particular, its newly launched products accounted for more than 60% of total revenue during the latest three months.
On the cost side, Celltrion said that profitability has gotbetter following the completion of post-merger integration. In late 2023, the Incheon-based company, located west of Seoul, merged with its sales affiliate, Celltrion Healthcare.
Celltrion expects growth momentum to strengthen in the second half, when the biosimilar industry typically benefits from increased government procurement deliveries and year-end inventory replenishment.
The company also plans to further broaden its pipeline of biosimilars and novel drugs beyond its current portfolio.
“This performance shows that our efforts to expand new products and improve profitability are beginning to deliver meaningful results, “Celltrion said in a statement.
“We expect stronger participation in major national tenders and continued growth from new products, which will be reflected more fully in the second half,” it added.
The share price of Celltrion rose 3.96% on the Seoul bourse on Friday, while the benchmark KOSPI gained 5.76%.