Lotus Pharmaceutical Co Ltd (美時化學製藥) yesterday reported that second-quarter profit was NT$298 million (US$10.1 million), 4.75 times what it was a year earlier, due to strong revenue performance by an anti-obesity drug and a treatment for opiate addiction.
Earnings per share were NT$1.23, the highest in a single quarter, a company statement said.
Consolidated revenue gained 41.3 percent annually to NT$2.67 billion in the April-to-June period, despite challenging market conditions amid the COVID-19 pandemic and unfavorable foreign exchange rates, the statement said.
Revenue at the company’s South Korean unit grew 1.6 percent annually, thanks to rapid growth in sales of its anti-obesity drug Qsymia, even though the New Taiwan dollar appreciated against the won, Lotus Pharmaceutical said.
Cumulative sales of Qsymia, an oral medicine, as of the end of June surpassed 10 billion won (US$8.44 million) following its launch in November last year, Lotus Pharmaceutical spokeswoman Angela Luan (欒君儀) told the Taipei Times by telephone.
The drug is second in the anti-obesity drug market in South Korea, with a market share of 15.6 percent as of the end of June, following Novo Nordisk A/S’ Saxenda, which has a market share of 24.8 percent, Luan said.
Revenue from ASEAN markets, including Thailand and Vietnam, rose 4 percent year-on-year in the second quarter, boosting its total revenue in Asia by 11.6 percent to NT$1.6 billion, the company said.
Revenue from markets outside Asia rose 161.7 percent year-on-year to NT$1.01 billion, on the back of strong sales of narcotic addiction treatment gSuboxone, it said.
Due to lower prices for gSuboxone, a generic version of Indivior Inc’s Suboxone, Lotus Pharmaceutical’s drug has been included in the public health program and private health insurance programs in the US, lifting its market share to 35 percent as of the second quarter, it said.
The company maintained its forecast of high single-digit percentage growth in overall revenue this year, Luan said.
However, gross margin fell to 40.2 percent in the second quarter from 50.9 percent a year earlier, as it generated more sales from gSuboxone with margin of 30 to 40 percent, it said.
Research and development expenses declined 31.2 percent annually to NT$86 million last quarter, as some of its research projects were postponed or affected by lockdowns around the world amid the pandemic, Luan said.
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