Celltrion jumped 10% intraday on the 2nd after it released results that beat market expectations and news that its U.S. contract manufacturing organization (CMO) business is getting underway in earnest.
As of 10:34 a.m. on the day, Celltrion was trading at 199,100 won on the Korea Exchange, up 18,100 won (10%) from the previous session.
On the 31st, Celltrion said in a filing that it guided fourth-quarter sales this year at 1.2839 trillion won, up 21% from a year earlier, and operating profit at 472.2 billion won, up 140%. Operating profit beat the market consensus by about 19%.
On the "surprise earnings," brokerages raised their target prices for Celltrion on the day. ▲ NH Investment & Securities 250,000 won ▲ Samsung Securities 230,000 won ▲ Korea Investment & Securities Co. 240,000 won ▲ Eugene Investment & Securities 250,000 won.
Wi Hae-ju, an analyst at Korea Investment & Securities Co., said, "As the share of sales from new products, including Remsima SC, expanded to 54%, operating profit beat market expectations amid improving gross profit margin (GPM)," and noted, "Starting this year, the U.S. CMO business will serve as a practical growth driver."
The full-fledged rollout of Celltrion's U.S. CMO business is also seen as boosting investor sentiment. On the 31st (local time), Celltrion said it completed the transfer of Eli Lilly and Company's biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Branchburg, New Jersey, United States. Along with this, it won a biopharmaceutical CMO contract totaling $473 million (about 678.7 billion won) from Eli Lilly and Company.