April 27, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] ChongKunDang Pharmaceutical is drawing expectations for its improvement in earnings and advance in pipelines, said Shinhan Investment on Feb. 5, raising the target price to 170,000 won (US$155.89) from 160,000 won.

Its revenue reached a record 243.9 billion won in the fourth quarter last year, up 11 percent from a year ago, and operating profit rose 5.6 percent to 21.3 billion won, both satisfying market consensus, said analyst Bae Gi-dal.

Cognitive disorder improvement therapy Gliatilin and dyslipidemia treatment Lipilou have propelled the revenue hike, noted the analyst forecasting that revenue this year will increase 7.9 percent from 2017 to 954.1 billion won and operating profit 4.6 percent to 81.7 billion won.

Its hyperlipidemia and diabetes treatments will continue to grow steadily this year while pneumococcal vaccine Prevenar, introduced last year, also may fare well, said Bae.

Although its heavier investment in R&D will bring down the rate of operating profits 0.2 point to 8.6 percent, this still is the highest level among major pharmaceutical companies, and its pipeline remains strong with pending advancement in clinical trials, noted the analyst maintaining a “buy” recommendation. 

By Hwang You-mee (glamazon@heraldcorp.com)