Samsung Biologics posts record first-half sales amid surging demand

[Courtesy of Samsung Biologics]

South Korea’s Samsung Biologics Co. reported its highest-ever first-half revenue, reaching nearly 1.6 trillion won ($1.26 billion), with a record-breaking operating profit of 440 billion won.

As the company’s fourth plant’s performance is set to be fully reflected in the second half, attention is now focused on whether the company can achieve an annual operating profit of 1 trillion won.

On Wednesday, Samsung Biologics announced that its first-half revenue came to 1.58 trillion won, with an operating profit of 445.2 billion won. Compared to the same period last year, the company saw a remarkable increase in revenue and operating profit by 36 percent and 29 percent, respectively, achieving the highest-ever performance for the first half of the year.

In the second quarter alone, the company’s revenue soared by 33 percent on-year to 866.2 billion won, while operating profit was up 49 percent to 253.4 billion won. Since the full operation of the company’s three plants in 2020, the average year-on-year growth rate for revenue and operating profit in the second quarter has been 41 percent and 46 percent, respectively, a company official said.

In the first half of the year on a non-consolidated basis, Samsung Biologics recorded revenue of 1.23 trillion won and an operating profit of 488.5 billion won. The second quarter saw a substantial rise in revenue and operating profit by 27 percent and 48 percent, respectively, with the operating profit margin reaching nearly 40 percent.

Samsung Biologics has seen a significant surge in business, securing several large-scale contract manufacturing agreements with global pharmaceutical companies. The total contract value for this year has already surpassed 2 trillion won, surpassing the company’s annual orders won last year. Notably, among the newly disclosed contracts and contract extensions, there are seven agreements worth over 100 billion won each.

The outlook for the second half of the year is even more positive as the revenue from the full operation of its fourth plant, which began in June, is expected to be fully reflected from the third quarter onwards. Currently, the fourth plant has secured contract manufacturing agreements with 10 customers for 16 products.

Meanwhile, Samsung Bioepis recorded 255.9 billion won in sales for the second quarter, marking a 10 percent increase from a year earlier. Despite intensifying competition in the global biosimilar market, the company managed to increase product sales and maintain revenue growth. However, higher research and development (R&D) costs led to a 28 percent decline in operating profit, reaching 41.9 billion won during the same period.