April 27, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Shareholders of biopharmaceutical firm Celltrion and its affiliates are having a good year, as their share price has rallied to make it the country’s fifth-largest business group in terms of market capitalization.

The combined value of Celltrion and its sister companies -- Celltrion Healthcare and Celltrion Pharm -- stands at over 40 trillion won (US$36.70 billion), ranking No. 5 in the list of largest business group, following the other major conglomerates Samsung, SK, LG and Hyundai Motor. 

Celltrion, the largest company listed on the country’s secondary KOSDAQ market, has propelled the group’s market cap growth as its shares more than doubled this year, pushing its market value to 26.95 trillion won.

Celltrion shares have surged since September when the biosimilar maker decided to relist on the benchmark KOSPI. The positive outlook for its follow-on biologic products also helped the shares soar.

“Celltrion’s 2018 revenue is expected to exceed 1 trillion won due to expansion of the biosmilar market and the company’s rising market share in the US,” Shin Hyun-joon, an analyst at Hanwha Investment & Securities said.

Celltrion Healthcare, which became the No. 2 firm on KOSDAQ when it went public in July, gained 77.5 percent in the past four months despite an earnings shock in the third quarter.

“Celltrion Healthcare’s third-quarter earnings were a shocking disappointment as revenue from its biosimilars -- Inflectra in the US and Truxima in Europe -- were deferred, while fixed costs and one-off costs from establishing an overseas branch further dragged down the bottom line,” said Samsung Securities analyst Lee Seung-ho.

The stocks have been extending their gain thanks to its inclusion in Morgan Stanley Capital International’s Korean index in November.

By Park Han-na (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)