Taipei, Taiwan, November 7th 2024 -- Lotus Pharmaceuticals (1795:TT; “Lotus” or “the Company”), a leading multinational pharmaceutical company, today announced its audited financial results for 3Q24, achieving the second-highest record in revenue, gross margin, and net profit in the company history
3Q24 financial highlights:
Net earnings: surged to NT$1,565 million in 3Q24 and resulted in an EPS of NT$5.98, reflecting a quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) growth of 17% and a year-over-year (YoY) increase of 26%, marking the second highest in company history.
Consolidated net revenue: Reached NT$5,234 million.
o Export Business: Export revenue grew by 32% YoY and 16% QoQ, primarily resulting from increased sales of Lenalidomide globally, as well as growing Enzalutamide sales in early entry markets.
o Asian Business: Demonstrated topline growth of 5% QoQ and maintain similar level as same period last year. QoQ growth is due to the consolidation of Teva Thailand since August. The Korean revenue was 4% YoY lower this quarter, driven by the absence of royalty income, offsetting YoY growth from Taiwan and rest-of-Asia.
o Revenue Distribution: Asia market accounting for approximately 47% of total revenues and exports representing approximately 53%.
Gross Margin: Significant improved to 63%, up by 2 percentage points (ppt) QoQ and 5 ppt YoY, thanks to more sales of higher-margin products such as Lenalidomide and less sales of lower-margin products such as Buprenorphine/Naloxone.
Operating Expenses: Decrease by 3% QoQ and increased by 3% YoY, mostly due to changes in impairment and payroll.
Non-Op Expenses: totaled NT$214mn, mostly from financial expense and foreign exchange loss, impacting EPS by approximately NT$0.8.
Petar Vazharov, Chief Executive Officer of Lotus, said " I am pleased to share that we have had another successful quarter at Lotus, marked by impressive profitability growth and significant strategic advancements. Alongside our acquisition of Teva Pharma Thailand, we have also signed the acquisition of Alpha Choay in Vietnam and Cambodia. These acquisitions are foundational steps in our Southeast Asia expansion, strengthening our regional presence and enhancing our capabilities in these key markets. I’m also thrilled to report that our revenue in Southeast Asia has grown by almost 75% year-over-year, positioning the region as our next major growth driver."
Operational results for the quarter ending on September 30, 3024
Total consolidated net sales were NT$5,234 million for 3Q24, compared to NT$4,573million in 3Q23, representing an increase of approximately 14%. Compared with the previous quarter, 3Q24 sales showed strong growth of 10%.
· Export business: Robust growth of 32% YoY and 16% QoQ, the performance was propelled by strong Lenalidomide sales in the US and Enzalutamide sales outside of US, which offset lower revenue from Buprenorphine/Naloxone.
· Asian business: 5% QoQ growth and maintain similar level as same period last year. QoQ growth was due to the consolidation of Teva Thailand's business since August this year. The Korean revenue was 4% less, compared with the same period the previous year. The variance was due to the absence of the income from a royalty buyout by a partner recognized last year, offsetting 3% YoY growth of Taiwan domestic revenue and 12% YoY growth from rest-of-Asia.
Gross margin was 63% for 3Q24, an increase of 5 ppt YoY and 2 ppt QoQ. This improvement was driven by a favorable revenue mix, including a higher-margin export of Lenalidomide to the US.
R&D expenses were NT$ 151 million in 3Q24, decrease 32% QoQ and 36% YoY. This reduction was primarily due to one-off charges from the termination of the NRX 101 co-development in 2Q24 and an impairment charge for the Nilotinib R&D project in 3Q24.
SG&A expenses increased by 13% compared to 3Q23, primarily due to higher costs of equity-based compensation.
3Q24 Business Update
R&D: Initiated 1 project, completed 1 PK study, currently there are 27 projects ongoing.
Regulatory: 27 filings, gained 19 market approvals, 19 SKUs (7 INN) launched.
Lotus achieved significant advancements for key products including Nintedanib, Pomalidomide, and Enzalutamide. Our regulatory teams completed 27 global filings and successfully secured 19 market authorizations worldwide. Notably, Lotus received approvals in Canada and the UK for Nintedanib (the generic of Ofev®). We launched pomalidomide (the generic of Pomalyst®) in Switzerland, and Israel.
Business Development: 1 brand acquisition and 2 licensing deals.
Following the acquisition of TEVA Pharmaceuticals Thailand, Lotus has announced its second strategic acquisition in SEA: the widely used anti-inflammatory product Alpha Choay® (Chymotrypsin) in Vietnam and Cambodia. Alpha Choay®, a leading brand in the anti-inflammatory sector in Vietnam, which offers Lotus access to the pharmacy channel in Vietnam whilst significantly expanding our presence in the region. Alpha Choay® had more than US$22 million of sales in 2023.
Lotus's in-licensing team enhanced the company's portfolio by signing four deals for products in the SEA market. Currently, there are over 25 projects in advanced negotiation stages, including NCE products, 505(b)2, biosimilars, and several brand acquisition deals.
Conference call and earnings material
Lotus Pharmaceutical will host a live audio conference in Mandarin at 2pm on November 12, 2024, and will conduct a conference call in English at 3:30pm on November 12, 2024, to review the Company's financial results for third quarter 2024. Information about the earnings call is available at the following address on the Company's website: https://www.lotuspharm.com/.
About Lotus
Founded in 1966, Lotus (1795: TT) is an international pharmaceutical company with global presence, focused on commercializing novel and generic pharmaceuticals, offering patients better, safe and more accessible medicines. The Company has a recognized best-in-class R&D and manufacturing platform in Asia and has established partnerships in nearly every global market including the U.S., Europe, Japan, China, and Brazil. Lotus runs over 100 strategically selected pharmaceutical projects in development and registrations across Asia and the US, with over 250 commercial products. The Company invests in diversified best portfolio consisting of high-barrier oncology, complex generics as well as 505(b)2 and NCE via internal R&D investment and licensing-in partnership, and also strengthens its portfolio competitiveness by adding biosimilar products with support from strategic partners. Its industry-leading infrastructure certified by most of the advanced regulatory authorities around the world, including US FDA, EU EMA, Japan PMDA, China FDA, and Brazil ANVISA.
Forward looking statements disclaimer
Except for historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this document are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. These forward-looking statements are not based on historical facts but rather on management’s expectations regarding future growth, results of operations, performance, future capital and other expenditures, competitive advantages, business prospects and opportunities. Statements in this presentation about our future plans and intentions, results, level of activities, performance, goals or achievements or other future events constitute forward looking statements. Wherever possible, words such as “anticipate”, “believe”, “expect”, “may”, “could”, “will”, “potential”, “intend”, “estimate”, “should”, “plan”, “predict”, or the negative or other variations of statements reflect management’s current beliefs and assumptions and are based on the information currently available to our management. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are made as of the date of this document, and we assume no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements.
Investor inquiries:
Yu-Ying Yang, Associate Director, Corporate Communication
+886 2 2700 5908