Kim Forest Enterprise Co (金萬林) on Thursday reported net profit of NT$86.4 million (US$2.88 million) for the first six months of this year, up 148 percent from a year earlier, as higher demand for its COVID-19 test kits and cancer testing services boosted revenue 74.05 percent to a record NT$429 million.
Earnings per share were NT$2.14, a record for the first half of a year, compared with NT$0.86 a year earlier, the molecular testing company said.
Kim Forest attributed the growth to higher demand for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing and other COVID-19-related products amid a surge in local cases of the disease.
Photo courtesy of Chi Mei Medical Center
Although domestic spread has slowed in the past few months, demand for COVID-19 testing remains solid as many workers, especially at hospitals and airports, still need to get tested regularly, the firm said.
Kim Forest said demand for PCR testing would persist if the Omicron BA.5 subvariant of SARS-CoV-2 drives a new surge in local cases.
Separately, BRIM Biotechnology Inc (全福生技) said it is planning to increase its paid-in capital by issuing 20 million to 24 million new shares,
The company seeks to fund phase 3 trials of its BRM421 drug for dry eye disease, BRIM said in a statement on Friday.
Priced at NT$25 per share, the issuance is expected to raise NT$500 million to NT$600 million in fresh capital, the company said.
BRIM said that it would discuss protocol for the final-stage trials set to start next quarter with the US Food and Drug Administration.
The company said it is optimistic that BRM421 would be approved as a first-line treatment for the common eye condition.
The company reported net losses of NT$141 million in the first half of the year, or losses per share of NT$2.03, due to rising research-and-development expenses and marketing costs.
It reported net losses of NT$18.46 million a year earlier.
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