[NA Eun-kyung, Edaily Reporter] Celltrion announced Monday that it will repurchase an additional 100 billion won ($70 million) worth of its own shares, bringing the total value of share repurchases authorized this year to 500 billion won ($350 million).

The company said its board approved the purchase of 514,404 shares through open-market transactions between October 27 and January 26, 2027.

This decision marks Celltrion’s fifth share buyback authorization this year. The company approved repurchases worth 100 billion won each in April, May, August, and September. Including this latest authorization, the company has announced plans to acquire 2.65 million shares worth a combined 500 billion won.

Celltrion has been conducting share buybacks since 2022 as part of its efforts to support its stock price and return capital to shareholders. It repurchased approximately 886 billion won worth of shares in 2023 and 534.6 billion won worth in 2024. The company continued its buyback and cancellation programs in 2025.

The drugmaker has also stepped up share cancellations, which permanently reduce the number of shares outstanding. It canceled approximately 1.8 trillion won worth of treasury shares in April and announced another cancellation worth about 100 billion won in September.

However, Celltrion has not yet decided whether to cancel the shares covered by its latest buyback authorization.

The company said it will seek shareholder feedback at its annual general meeting in March 2027 before deciding whether to cancel additional treasury shares or increase cash dividends. The decision will take into account its full-year financial results, distributable profits, and market conditions.

Under a shareholder return policy introduced in August, Celltrion aims to distribute approximately one-third of its annual consolidated net profit through share cancellations, cash dividends, or other measures.

The latest buyback comes as Celltrion reports stronger earnings, supported by growing global sales of its biosimilar medicines.

The company recently projected third-quarter revenue of 1.5 trillion won and operating profit of 510 billion won. It attributed the improvement to increased prescriptions of its products in overseas markets and a growing contribution from newer, higher-margin medicines.

Celltrion said it intends to balance shareholder returns with continued investment in research and development and manufacturing capacity.

"We will continue to invest in the company’s growth while consistently implementing our long-term principle of returning one-third of consolidated net profit to shareholders," a company spokesperson said.