Yuhan broke the 600 billion won ($414 million) mark in standalone quarterly sales for the first time in its history, setting a new all-time record for a single quarter. The surge was driven by a wave of license revenue tied to Lazertinib (generic name: lazertinib), its non-small cell lung cancer treatment.
Yuhan disclosed Thursday that its preliminary consolidated second-quarter earnings came in at 639.5 billion won in sales, 66.8 billion won in operating profit and 68 billion won in net profit for the period. Compared with the same period a year earlier, sales rose 10.4 percent, operating profit climbed 34.1 percent and net profit jumped 54.6 percent.
On a standalone basis, second-quarter sales also grew 10.4 percent year-on-year to 614 billion won, while operating profit rose 34.7 percent to 61.4 billion won. It marked the first time Yuhan had crossed the 600 billion won threshold in standalone quarterly sales, rewriting its record for the best quarterly performance in company history.
The driving force behind the earnings surprise was license revenue tied to Lazertinib. Standalone license revenue for the quarter reached 58.9 billion won, a 130.6 percent surge from 25.5 billion won in the same period last year. The jump reflects full recognition of staged milestone payments linked to the advancing global commercialization and regulatory approvals of Lazertinib through its global partner Johnson & Johnson.
By business segment, prescription drug sales in the ethical pharmaceutical division rose 5.3 percent year-on-year to 302.8 billion won, providing a solid earnings base. Rosuvamib, a dyslipidemia treatment, was a particular standout, posting cumulative first-half sales of 46.8 billion won — up 22.3 percent from a year earlier. The overseas business segment also performed well, with sales rising 5.4 percent year-on-year to 121 billion won, driven in part by strong results at Yuhan Chemical.
The results mark a landmark shift for a domestic pharmaceutical company — away from a traditional revenue model centered on domestic prescription drugs and toward a high-value global licensing structure, as milestone payments from its in-house drug now flow directly into its bottom line.
silverpaper@heraldcorp.com
