Center Laboratories Inc (Center Lab, 晟德) on Thursday reported net profit of NT$947 million (US$32.83 million) for last quarter, up 32 percent from a year earlier, on the back of advancing non-operating earnings from its investment in two firms in China, the company said.
From a 21.75 percent stake in Ausnutria Dairy Corp Ltd (澳優乳業) — a Hong Kong-listed Chinese pediatric milk formula maker that reported third-quarter profits of 218 million yuan (US$32.98 million) — Center Lab realized profit of about NT$203 million, the companies’ data showed.
It also saw the valuation of its investment in China-based Jacobio Pharmaceuticals Group Co Ltd (加科思) increase after the Chinese firm secured a signing fee and royalty payment of US$855 million in June for licensing its SHP2 inhibitor — which targets a key node in cancer and immune cells — to AbbVie Inc, Center Lab said.
As a result, the company saw its non-operating earnings jump 13 percent from a year earlier to NT$2.29 billion for the third quarter, which effectively offset its operating losses of NT$305 million during the same period, company data showed.
Earnings per share totaled NT$2.09 for last quarter, compared with NT$0.07 a year earlier, the data showed.
Overall, for the first three quarters, Center Lab posted cumulative profits of NT$2.41 billion, with earnings per share of NT$5.47, the data showed.
Center Lab, which has touted itself as a leading private-equity investor in the biotechnology sector, expects to reap returns from its investments in a few biotech firms, such as Ever Supreme Bio Technology Co Ltd (長聖國際) and Delta Asia International Co (達亞國際), which last month received approval from the Taipei Exchange (TPEX) to be listed on the bourse, it said.
BioGend Therapeutics Co Ltd (博晟生醫), which Center Lab also invests in, last month applied to be listed on the TPEX, but has not yet been approved, TPEX data showed.
Center Lab plans to increase its investment in Lumosa Therapeutics Co Ltd (順天醫藥) by purchasing 17.2 million of the firm’s newly issued shares for NT$498.8 million, which would boost Center Lab’s stake from 28 percent to 34 percent, as it is upbeat about Lumosa’s development of a new drug for treating ischemic stroke, it said.
Lumosa, a TPEX-listed firm, is seeking to raise NT$855.5 million by issuing 29.5 million common stocks in a private placement this month, the firm sa-id in a filing with the TPEX on Thursday.
Center Lab’s share price yesterday gained 4.36 percent to close at NT$69.4 in Taipei trading.
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