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Photo courtesy of Yonhap News |
[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] Although South Korea’s domestic stock market has delivered outstanding returns this year, the market capitalization of major corporate groups has grown significantly, while Celltrion Group has seen only modest gains despite strong earnings and shareholder return initiatives. Compared to other conglomerates that have expanded through high-growth sectors such as artificial intelligence (AI), defense, and shipbuilding, Celltrion has remained relatively under the radar even within the pharmaceutical and biotech industry.
According to the Korea Exchange as of December 17, Celltrion Group’s market capitalization has risen 5.62% this year to KRW 45.48 trillion. While the KOSPI index climbed 69.09%, Celltrion increased only 6.71%, and Celltrion Pharm rose 14.96%, underperforming the KOSDAQ index gain of 34.34%. By contrast, SK Group stocks saw their market capitalization grow 156.68%, led by SK Hynix, whose stock price tripled this year. Samsung Group’s market cap increased 81.71%, driven by a doubling in the share price of Samsung Electronics and Samsung C&T. The Doosan Group’s capitalization expanded 207.61%, fueled by the rapid growth of its nuclear power leader Doosan Enerbility, while Hanwha Group stocks, including Hanwha Aerospace and Hanwha Ocean, surged 155.27%, making them among the most closely watched on the domestic market.
Analysts point to several factors limiting Celltrion’s stock performance. The expected benefits from mergers and U.S. market operations have not met market expectations, and the company’s large-scale share buybacks and cancellations have not gained enough market trust to drive significant stock revaluation. Costs arising after the merger with Celltrion Healthcare were higher than anticipated, while U.S. sales of the company’s flagship product, Jimpentra (the U.S. brand name for Remsima SC), repeatedly fell short of projections, putting pressure on the stock price. Last year, Jimpentra’s U.S. sales were forecast at KRW 600 billion but actually amounted to KRW 36.6 billion. This year, the forecast has been revised from KRW 700 billion to KRW 350 billion.
Market views on Celltrion’s shareholder return policy are also mixed. The group repurchased KRW 844.2 billion worth of shares this year alone, bringing cumulative buybacks across the group to approximately KRW 1.9 trillion. Shares canceled totaled around KRW 900 billion. In May, the company conducted a 0.04-share stock dividend, and this month it approved a KRW 750 cash dividend per common share. However, some market participants interpret these shareholder-friendly actions as part of ownership consolidation and succession planning rather than purely as value-enhancing initiatives.
Alphabiz Reporter Paul Lee(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)
