Yuhan Corporation's first-quarter operating profit rose more than 30% from a year earlier.
Yuhan Corporation said Wednesday that it posted first-quarter consolidated revenue of 526.8 billion won ($384 million) and operating profit of 8.8 billion won ($6.4 million), up 7.2% and 37.3%, respectively, from the same period last year, according to a preliminary disclosure.
Despite the increases in revenue and operating profit, the results fell short of market expectations. According to financial information provider FnGuide, the first-quarter consensus for Yuhan Corporation was revenue of 538.4 billion won and operating profit of 22.1 billion won.
The weaker-than-expected performance is attributed to delays in milestone payments from Leclaza. The market had initially expected a 44 billion won European milestone for Leclaza to be reflected in first-quarter earnings. However, as prescriptions have yet to be issued in some countries, payments are reportedly being delayed.
Securities firms said Yuhan Corporation's growth momentum remains intact. Heo Hye-min, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities, said, "As European countries are gradually adding the drug to their insurance coverage, Leclaza milestones could flow in during the second quarter." Some analysts also noted that Leclaza has entered a phase of expanding U.S. royalty revenue. "Leclaza's royalties slightly exceeded 10 billion won last year, but we expect around 50 billion won this year," a securities analyst said.
The active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) segment and next-generation pipeline are also cited as factors raising expectations for future performance. Yuhan Corporation's first-quarter API revenue exceeded 100 billion won, leading its overseas business. In addition, 'YH25724,' a candidate treatment for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), is progressing smoothly after demonstrating efficacy in global Phase 1 clinical trials.
