Celltrion net profit plunges 87.6 percent following merger

The corporate logo of Celltrion. [YONHAP]

Celltrion, a major South Korea biopharmaceutical company, said Thursday that its net profit had plunged 87.6 percent from a year earlier following the company's merger with its sales and marketing affiliate.

Its net profit came to 20.8 billion won ($15.2 million) in the January-March period, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Operating income fell 91.5 percent on year to 15.4 billion won while revenue increased 23.3 percent to hit a quarterly high of 737 billion won.

Operating profit surpassed the average estimate by 146.6 percent according to a survey from Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency. An estimate of net profit was not available.

Celltrion's sales surpassed 700 billion won for the first time in the first quarter mainly thanks to rising demand for its biosimilar infliximab products for autoimmune diseases in Europe.

Despite strong sales, the company said its net profit had decreased due to the effects of its merger with Celltrion Healthcare in December, including bigger inventory and the amortization of intangible assets.

The combined market share of Remsima and Remsima SC, the subcutaneous version of the drug, hit 74 percent in Britain, Germany, France, Spain and Italy in the fourth quarter of last year, Celltrion said, citing data from health care researcher IQVIA.

The Korean company's other blockbuster biosimilars, Truxima and Herzuma, hold market shares of 24 percent and 19 percent in Europe, respectively.

The company said it is also working to disseminate Zymfentra, a U.S. version of Remsima SC, into the American market after winning approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last year.

Celltrion's third production facility is slated to begin operation in the fourth quarter of this year, expanding the company's manufacturing capacity to 250,000 liters (66,043 gallons).

Yonhap