Dong-A Socio Holdings said on the 29th that third-quarter operating profit on a consolidation basis came to 33.3 billion won, up 47.7% from a year earlier. Sales for the same period rose 7.2% on-year to 382.6 billion won, pushing cumulative sales past 1 trillion won in just three quarters.
The company cited sales growth at key subsidiaries and increased profits at consolidation affiliates as the drivers of this performance. Specifically, Dong-A Pharmaceutical Co. saw sales from Bacchus and the over-the-counter medicines division rise 11.5% from a year earlier, with operating profit up 28.9%.
STgen Bio, a contract manufacturing organization (CMO) specializing in biopharmaceuticals, increased sales on new orders and commercial volumes of a global biosimilar. Logistics specialist Yongma Logis also increased sales thanks to new client wins and higher Chuseok holiday shipment volume.
ST PHARM, the active pharmaceutical ingredient subsidiary of Dong-A Socio Holdings, posted third-quarter operating profit up 141.6% and sales up 32.7% from a year earlier, at 14.7 billion won and 81.9 billion won, respectively.
ST PHARM's sales grew around oligonucleotide new drug contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) projects. Third-quarter oligo sales reached 68.6 billion won, up 92.9% from the same period a year earlier (36.5 billion won).
By contrast, major subsidiary Dong-A ST recorded an all-time quarterly high with third-quarter sales of 198.4 billion won, up 10.5% from a year earlier, but operating profit for the same period was 16.8 billion won, down 15.4% on-year.
In the prescription drug institutional sector, sales increased for the growth hormone "Grotropin" and the functional dyspepsia treatment "Motilitone," and sales of new items such as the gastroesophageal reflux disease drug "Ja Q Bo" and the precocious puberty and prostate cancer treatment "Diphereline" grew, resulting in a 20.6% increase from a year earlier.
However, in the overseas business institutional sector, sales fell 11.0% on-year as Bacchus sales edged down and sales decreased due to first-half inventory effects for "IMULDOSA," a biosimilar of "Stelara (ustekinumab)," a treatment for autoimmune diseases.