Samsung Biologics reports record profit and big earnings surprise

Industry

Published: 27 Jan. 2023, 17:14 Updated: 27 Jan. 2023, 17:16

Samsung Biologics reports record profit and big earnings surprise

Samsung Biologics CEO John Rim speaks during the annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco earlier in the month. [SAMSUNG BIOLOGICS]

Samsung Biologics reported a 103 percent surge in net profit in 2022, with revenues and operating profit hitting records.

Net profit soared 102.8 percent to 798.1 billion won ($650 million) last year, beating the market consensus of 610.2 billion won as compiled by FnGuide.

Annual revenues hit a record 3 trillion won last year, up 91 percent, beating market expectation of 2.75 trillion won.

Operating profit jumped 83 percent to 983.6 billion won, beating the consensus of 918.9 billion won.

“The increase in the number of orders and the high operation rate of plants in Incheon were the largest contributors,” Samsung Biologics said in a statement.

The annual figures are the first including sales of Samsung Bioepis, its wholly-owned subsidiary. The company acquired the 50 percent minus one share of Samsung Bioepis it didn't already own for $2.3 billion in a deal with Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Biogen in April last year.

Samsung Biologics' third plant in Songdo, Incheon [SAMSUNG BIOLOGICS]

Samsung Bioepis reported revenue that inched up 12 percent on year to 946.3 billion won in 2022. Its operating profit rose 20 percent in the same period to 231.5 billion won.

Bioepis has a total of 10 biosimilar products and candidates. Six — three autoimmune treatments and three oncology treatments — are being used globally, while four candidates are currently in Phase 3 clinical trials.

Biosimilars, according to the FDA, are products that are approved based on proof that they are highly biologically similar to other FDA-approved products. The drugs have no clinically meaningful differences in terms of safety or effectiveness from the reference product, but they cost less.

Established in 2011, Samsung Biologics has signed a total of 74 CMO deals and 101 contract and development organization (CDO) deals, totaling about $9.5 billion.

Samsung Biologics started partial operation of its fourth plant, in Songdo, Incheon, which will have a capacity of 240,000 liters when fully operational in June. It is the world’s largest single pharmaceutical manufacturing facility.

The company already signed 11 deals with eight global pharmaceutical companies for the fourth plant, and is in talks with 26 potential clients.

The latest plant will likely bring the company's annual production capacity to 604,000 liters, which Samsung Biologics says is equivalent to nearly 30 percent of the global contract manufacturing market for biopharmaceuticals.

Samsung Biologics will invest 7.5 trillion won in building four new factories in a new manufacturing complex next to its existing plants in Songdo.

The second complex, Bio Campus II, will be built on a 357,000-square-meter (3.8-million-square-foot) piece of land it purchased for 426 billion won. Each plant will have a 180,000-liter capacity, for a combined 720,000 liters.

Samsung Biologics shares closed up 1.76 percent to 809,000 won on Friday.

BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]