Center Laboratories Inc (晟德大藥廠), which makes oral liquid formulations, on Wednesday gave a positive outlook for sales growth as its venture capital efforts begin to pay off.
The company, which a decade ago began branching out as an industrial bank specializing in the biotechnology sector, said that its early bets are maturing into stable businesses, Center Laboratories chairman Lin Rong-jin (林榮錦) said at an earnings conference in Taipei.
Sales this year could reach NT$30 billion (US$1.03 billion), up from last year’s NT$19.4 billion, an increase of 28.94 percent year-on-year, Lin said.
Center Laboratories plans for two to three of its investees to hold initial public offerings in Taiwan, Hong Kong and China over the next three years, Lin added.
Net income last year totaled NT$250 million, up from NT$19 million a year earlier, or earnings per share of NT$0.79, the firm said.
However, as many of its early ventures are still at an early stage, the company said it booked investment related losses of NT$600 million last year.
Center Laboratories also announced plans to distribute dividends of NT$1, of which NT$0.5 would be in cash, a company first, while NT$0.5 would be paid in additional shares.
Market value of the company’s venture capital portfolio this month reached NT$16.3 billion, excluding holdings of unlisted equity, with NT$9.5 billion in unrealized profits, Masterlink Securities Investment Advisory Corp (元富投顧) said in a report published on Monday last week.
Ausnutria Dairy Corp (澳優乳業), a pediatric milk formula maker in which Center Laboratories holds a 40.55 percent stake, has become the company’s top contributing investee in terms of capital gains, MasterLink analyst George Lin (林修齊) said.
After acquiring its stake in Ausnutria Dairy at HK$2.75 per share, Center Laboratories can expect to reap returns of more than 122 percent, as shares in Ausnutria Dairy yesterday closed at HK$6.34 in Hong Kong trading.
Ausnutria Dairy would continue to see growth in China, he said, adding that the end of China’s one-child policy and its tighter food safety controls were putting increased pressure on the company’s competitors and might cause about 75 percent of formula brands in China to close.
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