Celltrion Pharm Inc. announced on the 9th that it posted third-quarter revenue of 161.9 billion won and operating profit of 23.9 billion won. Compared to the same period last year, revenue and operating profit rose by 17.2% and 48.4%, respectively, marking record highs for both metrics on a quarterly basis. Operating profit set a new record for the second consecutive quarter, following the second quarter.
The operating profit margin stood at 14.8%, up 3.1 percentage points (p) from the same period last year. Amid steady sales of chemical pharmaceuticals, the growth in performance was driven by expanded prescriptions of biopharmaceuticals at major hospitals and the full utilization of the PFS production facility. A lower ratio of costs to revenue also contributed to improved profitability.
Cumulative revenue for the first three quarters reached 447.3 billion won, and operating profit reached 56.1 billion won, representing year-over-year increases of 17.1% and 32.4%, respectively.
By business segment, biopharmaceutical sales reached 45.2 billion won, a 40.2% increase year-over-year. This growth was driven by securing new prescribing institutions and an expansion of prescriptions at existing partner hospitals.
Sales of “Remsima,” a treatment for autoimmune diseases, rose 18.8% to 14.9 billion won. Approval to increase the dosage of the pen-type product contributed to the sales growth. “Uplima” posted sales of 2.9 billion won, up 54.1%. Sales of the anticancer drugs “Herzuma” and “Truxima” rose 17.8% and 64%, respectively, to 5.1 billion won and 4.1 billion won. “Vegzelma” recorded sales of 3.6 billion won, up 9.4%.
Sales of products launched domestically last year also increased. The bone disease treatment “Stovoclo” generated 7.7 billion won in sales, a 64.5% increase year-over-year, while the ophthalmic treatment “Idenzelt” recorded 4.1 billion won in sales, a 149.1% increase. Sales of the allergy treatment “Omriclo” rose 64.8% to 1.7 billion won. Sales of the autoimmune disease treatments “Stekima” and “Aptozma” each reached 500 million won.
Sales in the contract manufacturing segment totaled 48.2 billion won, a 26.2% increase compared to the same period last year. Of this, sales from commercial production related to PFS rose 44.2% to 40.4 billion won. According to the company, the PFS production facilities maintained maximum operating capacity.
The chemical pharmaceuticals segment generated 68.4 billion won in sales. Sales of the liver tonic “Godex” rose 10.3% year-over-year to 17.7 billion won, while the hypertension treatment “Dilatrene” recorded 15.8 billion won, up 5.5%. Sales of “Amlojet,” a combination drug for hypertension and hyperlipidemia, rose 355.9% to 600 million won as prescriptions expanded.
A Celltrion Pharm Inc. official stated, “Thanks to the combination of robust sales of our flagship products, increased prescriptions for biopharmaceuticals, and strong performance in PFS contract manufacturing, we achieved record-high quarterly results for both revenue and operating profit.” The official added, “We plan to sustain the growth momentum seen across all business divisions through the third quarter until the end of the year, and we will do our utmost to ensure that our annual performance also yields meaningful results.”
