Sales and operating profit for the first half of this year at KOSDAQ-listed KOREA PHARMA(032300) jumped sharply.
KOREA PHARMA said on Aug. 13 that first-half sales and operating profit came to 50.5 billion won and 3.5 billion won, respectively. The figures were up 14.3% and 280.1% from a year earlier.
Second-quarter sales were 25.9 billion won, up 10.8% from a year earlier. Operating profit was also 2.2 billion won, increasing 27 times over the same period.
KOREA PHARMA said first-half growth was driven by increased contract manufacturing organization (CMO) volume and higher sales of in-licensed drugs. Existing central nervous system (CNS)-focused prescription drugs showed stable sales growth, and contract manufacturing and merchandise sales also rose sharply. The company also noted improved profitability through cuts in selling, general and administrative expenses.
KOREA PHARMA is also seeking to expand its business through electroceuticals and digital therapeutics (DTx) as next-generation ventures. In July, it signed a domestic co-business agreement with Ybrain, a psychiatric electroceuticals company, for an electroencephalogram diagnostic system and a transcranial direct current stimulation system. With Emotiv, it signed an exclusive domestic distribution agreement for a digital therapeutic for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children and is moving to aggressively tap the market.
A KOREA PHARMA official said, "Based on a stable business structure in CNS therapeutics, we will push investment and partnerships more proactively to secure next-generation growth engines."