Seegene announced on the 9th that its operating profit for the first quarter of this year has turned positive with a preliminary total of 14.8 billion won. During the same period, sales increased by 29.0% compared to the same period last year, reaching 116 billion won.
The company analyzed that it turned profitable through growth in sales of non-COVID-19 diagnostic reagents and balanced growth in extraction reagents and equipment. Among the total reagent sales of 94.3 billion won, the sales of diagnostic reagents amounted to 83.2 billion won, of which sales of non-COVID-19 diagnostic reagents increased by 37.5% to 79.2 billion won compared to the previous year. Sales of extraction reagents recorded 11.1 billion won, up 24.7%, and sales including equipment increased by 25.4% to 21.7 billion won.
Among the sales of diagnostic reagents, respiratory products showed growth, with respiratory virus (RV) products increasing by 44.8% and respiratory bacteria (PB) products by 130.9% compared to the same period last year. The company explained that the sales of respiratory products were strong due to the ongoing flu epidemic.
Sales of non-respiratory and gastrointestinal (GI) combined products rose by 35.3%, and products related to human papillomavirus (HPV) also increased by 31.5%.
The regional sales share showed that Europe accounted for the highest at 64%, followed by Asia at 15%, South Korea at 9%, Latin America at 7%, and North America at 4%.
Kim Jeong-yong, head of financial management at Seegene, noted that "the syndromic campaign launched in the global market since last year is showing results, and we are continuously seeking to increase HPV sales in markets such as European screening tests."