 |
Celltrion |
[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] Kiwoom Securities predicted on Friday that Celltrion's operating profit will see significant improvement this year due to cost efficiency measures and a better cost ratio. The brokerage firm maintained a "Buy" rating on Celltrion and raised its target price from 220,000 KRW to 240,000 KRW. The stock's closing price in the previous trading session was 182,700 KRW.
According to Kiwoom Securities, Celltrion's consolidated sales for Q4 2023 surged 178% year-on-year to 1.0637 trillion KRW, while operating profit soared 966% to 196.4 billion KRW. These figures were largely in line with Kiwoom's estimates of 1.0137 trillion KRW in revenue and 200.1 billion KRW in operating profit.
Excluding factors related to the third plant, such as FDA audit response and operational costs, Kiwoom Securities estimated that Celltrion's cost ratio in Q4 2023 was lower than 49%. It projected that the cost ratio would further decline to 45% in Q1 2024 and continue improving over time, reaching the low 30% range by Q4 2025 as product mix enhances and Celltrion Healthcare's inventory depletes.
Selling, general, and administrative (SG&A) expenses were elevated in Q4 2023, recording a 33% ratio due to factors such as a French government subsidy of approximately 20 billion KRW, overseas hiring, and advertising costs for the U.S. subsidiary. However, Kiwoom expects the annual SG&A ratio to stabilize around 30% in 2024.
Market expectations for Zympentra stand at around 200 to 300 billion KRW, reflecting relatively modest anticipation. However, from the second half of this year, an increasing number of bundleable products—including Stekima, Zympentra, and Inflectra—is expected to enhance negotiation power with pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). Kiwoom Securities projected that meaningful sales momentum will begin in 2026, during the third phase of the product’s rollout.
Alphabiz Reporter Paul Lee(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)
