Medical artificial intelligence (AI) corporation Lunit announced on the 12th that it recorded an operating loss of 20.665 billion won in the first quarter of this year. This is an increase of about 7.8 billion won compared to the first quarter of last year.
In the first quarter, revenue increased by 273.6% compared to the same period last year, reaching 19.230 billion won. The financial statements showed a net profit of 2.02729 billion won, but the company described this as a temporary, non-recurring effect primarily due to an increase in evaluation profit from convertible bonds (CB). In the first quarter of last year, a net loss of 11.3 billion won was recorded.
Lunit's export amount in the first quarter of this year was 17.937 billion won, a 327.1% increase compared to the same period last year. This accounts for 93% of total revenue. Domestic sales also rose to 1.265 billion won, a 34.6% increase compared to the same period last year.
According to the company, both Lunit and its subsidiary Volpara Health recorded the largest quarterly sales in the cancer diagnosis sector in the first quarter of this year. Sales from the AI cancer diagnostic solution "Lunit Insight" increased by 39% compared to the same period last year. This was influenced by the signing of a solution supply contract with "Dr. Sulaiman Al-Habib Medical Group", the largest private medical institution in Saudi Arabia, and an increase in direct sales in Singapore.
Sales of the AI biomarker platform "Lunit Scope" in the cancer treatment sector also increased by 135% compared to the same period last year. The company explained that the increase in research service sales with global pharmaceutical corporations was a major driving force.
In the first quarter of this year, sales of Lunit's three-dimensional (3D) mammography AI image analysis solution "Lunit Insight DBT" began through Volpara's North American market sales network. This marks the first case of Lunit products entering the North American market through Volpara's distribution channel.
Lunit CEO Seo Beom-seok noted, "The results of the first quarter confirm the high growth trend of both Lunit Insight and Lunit Scope, which is encouraging," and stated, "We will continue to pursue balanced growth in both cancer diagnosis and treatment areas, while also achieving revenue results in the North American market to further solidify our position as a leading global medical AI corporation."