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%.
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Gold futures gained Thursday after a weaker-than-expected June employment report pressured the U.S. dollar and cooled near-term expectations for rate-tightening from the Federal Reserve.
Only 57K non-farm jobs were added in June, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported, well below analyst forecasts
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Wise Group (WSE) stock surged 5.4% in Thursday after-hours trading after the fintech said it plans a new share repurchase program that it expects to exceed $500M.
About 40% of the buyback program is expected to be allocated to its recurring
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The Kansas City Composite Index came in at 11, compared to 8 in May, according to data from the district Federal Reserve bank released on Thursday.
The Manufacturing Index stood at 19, compared to 9 prior.
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An aerial photo made with a drone shows gasses burning off near oil storage tanks and a drilling rig near Karnes City, Texas. Photo by TANNEN MAURY / EPA
June 2 (Asia Today) — U.S. crude oil exports reached a record high in May as demand from Asian and European refiners surged, market data showed.
U.S. crude exports averaged 5.6 million barrels per day in May, surpassing the previous record of 5.2 million barrels per day set in April, according to data from analytics firm Kpler.
The increase was driven in part by a widening price gap between West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark crude, and Brent crude, the global benchmark.
The spread between WTI and Brent widened to as much as $20.69 a barrel in March, the largest gap in 13 years. In April, the gap averaged $8.86 a barrel, wider than the prewar average of $4.85.
Supply disruptions in the Middle East caused by the war involving Iran also prompted refiners in Asia and Europe to seek more U.S. crude as an alternative.
Asia imported an average of 2.45 million barrels per day, making it the largest destination for U.S. crude for a second consecutive month.
Japan was the biggest Asian buyer, importing 808,000 barrels per day, up 32% from the previous month.
Europe ranked second, importing 2.4 million barrels per day.
Italy led European demand with imports of 335,000 barrels per day. Bulgaria, Croatia, Turkey and Greece also made rare purchases of U.S. crude, according to the data.
Industry analysts expect U.S. crude exports to decline from June. Consulting firm Energy Aspects projected exports would fall to an average of 4.9 million barrels per day in June and 4.6 million barrels per day in July.
Sources and analysts said declining WTI inventories in the United States are expected to encourage domestic storage and reduce export volumes.
— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI
© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.
Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260602010000543
Maksim Labkouski
Published on •Updated
Oil prices surged in early trade as investors digested the latest developments in the Middle East, with both Brent and US crude climbing over 4%.
It comes after Trump’s rejection of Tehran’s response to the latest US proposition on bringing the conflict in Iran, and subsequent impact on trade passing through the Strait of Hormuz, to an end.
In other trading, US futures edged lower, while Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.4% to 62,486.84 after briefly reaching another record high in intraday trading at above 63,300.
South Korea’s Kospi gained 4.1% to 7,804.71. It also hit an all-time intraday high, led by gains from tech-related stocks including Samsung Electronics and memory chip maker SK Hynix.
Technology-related stocks and growing artificial intelligence-related interest have supported markets in Japan and South Korea despite the Iran war, with the Nikkei 225 and Kospi rising more than 10% and 30%, respectively, over the past month.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump will head to China this week for talks with his counterpart, Xi Jinping. The two leaders are expected to discuss a wide range of topics, including trade concerns.