Operating Profit Surges 22% in 2020
Dongkook Pharmaceutical surpassed 500 billion won in sales for the first time in 2020. Both sales and operating profit enjoyed double-digit growth thanks to an increase in exports and the growth of its healthcare business.
Dongkook Pharmaceutical announced on Feb. 23 that it racked up 559.1 billion won in sales and 83.6 billion won in operating profit in 2020 on a consolidated basis. Its sales and operating profit grew 15.9 percent and 21.9 percent, respectively, compared to the same period of 2019.
It achieved growth in all of its business areas -- the ethical the counter (ETC) business, over the counter (OTC) business, healthcare business, overseas business and Dongguk Life Sciences (a subsidiary). In particular, it recorded remarkable growth in exports and healthcare.
In the export front, the intravenous anesthetic “Popol Injection” was exported to the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Singapore under the COVID-19 pandemic situation. Brazil's orders soared, driving export growth.
“Teicoplanin,” a glycopeptide antibiotic (a drug that generates anti-bacterial effects by inhibiting cell wall synthesis of bacteria), also showed steady growth in export markets including Brazil, Japan, Turkey, Europe, and India.
"Bellast," a skin wrinkle-improving filler based on hyaluronic acid, logged a sharp spike in exports to the Asian market.
In the healthcare sector, cosmetics brand Centellian 24 continued to grow in the domestic and foreign markets thanks to increased online distribution and exports through the promotion of digital marketing. Dongkook is creating demand in new markets by releasing “Cencian,” a slimmer that improves blood circulation.
Dongkook Pharmaceutical is strengthening its R&D investment through a TBM development strategy. Research and facility investment are underway to develop finished products based basic technologies for microspheres, a spherical amino acid polymer measuring 1.4–2.5 μm, liposomes, a spherical or elliptical structure made of lipids, and the self-micro-emulsifying drug delivery system (SMEDDS)
The company has a drug delivery system that allows drugs to continuously release their effective elements over a long period of time. Based on this, it is developing new drugs for prostate cancer, acromegaly, diabetes, obesity, dementia and Parkinson's disease. It is also developing the world's first prostatomegaly complex that improves absorption oils of drugs by applying SMEDDS technology.