SK Bioscience 2022 net income down 65.5 pct due to decreased production of COVID-19 vaccines

SEOUL– SK Bioscience Co., a pharmaceutical affiliate under SK Group, said Wednesday that its 2022 net profit slumped 65.5 percent due to a drop in production of licensed COVID-19 vaccines.

The company logged a net income of 122.5 billion won (US$97.2 million) on a consolidated basis in 2022, compared with 355.1 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Its operating profit tumbled 75.57 percent on-year to 115 billion won last year, while its annual sales sank 50.8 percent to 456.7 billion won.

The company attributed the weak bottom line to a drop in production of COVID-19 vaccines last year amid waning demand.

SK Bioscience has produced vaccines of AstraZeneca and Novavax in South Korea under a partnership deal.

The company said it will spend 325.7 billion won in building a production and research and development center in Songdo, west of Seoul, by 2024, as part of its long-term strategy to expand its vaccine business to the global market.

Shares in SK Bioscience fell 0.38 percent to close at 77,900 won on the main Seoul bourse on Wednesday, underperforming the broader KOSPI’s 1.3 percent gain.

Source: Yonhap News Agency