Kolon Life Science said on the 12th that it returned to the black in both operating profit and net profit last year.
On a consolidation basis, the company's revenue last year was 208.9 billion won, up 29.5% from a year earlier. Operating profit was 17.5 billion won, and net profit was 24.8 billion won.
The company cited expanded sales of precision chemical materials for industrial and paint use, the entry of its antimicrobial agent into the U.S. market, and exports of industrial materials to Europe as drivers of revenue growth. It also said revenue in the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) segment increased.
In the electronic materials segment, it transferred technology related to mPPO (modified polyphenylene oxide), a next-generation copper-clad laminate (CCL) material, last year and received an upfront payment. CCL is an insulating material for printed circuit boards (PCB). The company said it plans to continue pursuing the PPO business, the raw material for mPPO.
The company plans to expand the markets for electronic materials and active pharmaceutical ingredients beyond Japan to China, Europe and South America. In the bio segment, it will push for global technology transfer and expanded partnerships for the anticancer gene therapy candidate "KLS-3021" and the neuropathic pain gene therapy "KLS-2031," which are under development.
Chief Executive Kim Seon-jin said, "In the active pharmaceutical ingredient field, we have proactively forecast future demand and have completed or are conducting regulatory inspections of production facilities in the relevant regions following the registration of substances for new markets, so we expect revenue and profit to expand further."