Celltrion Misses Market Consensus Despite Double-Digit Growth in Q3 2025 Earnings
Celltrion’s third-quarter 2025 earnings showed solid growth but missed market expectations, as higher sales of biosimilars and new drugs offset one-off impacts from divestments.
- Q3 revenue: ₩1.03 trillion (+16.7% YoY), operating profit: ₩301.4 billion (+45.1% YoY).
- Results fell short of KB Securities’ estimates by 8.8% (sales) and 8.2% (operating profit).
- Biosimilar revenue rose 18.7% to ₩961.3 billion, led by high-margin new products.
- Cost ratio improved below 40% for the first time since merger, boosting profitability.
- SC formulations and new product launches continue to drive momentum.
Celltrion posted third-quarter revenue of ₩1.03 trillion and operating profit of ₩301.4 billion, up 16.7% and 45.1% year-on-year, respectively, according to its earnings release.
While performance was strong, results came in below KB Securities’ projections by 8.8% for revenue and 8.2% for operating profit, reflecting softer-than-expected contributions from non-bio segments.
During the earnings call, management attributed the topline growth to strong biosimilar sales of ₩961.3 billion (+18.7% YoY), driven by a 52% surge in high-margin new products. Non-bio product revenue fell 5.8% to ₩67.7 billion, a temporary decline linked to the sale of Takeda’s primary business rights, which the company said had limited overall impact.
Operating profit rose 45.1% to ₩301.4 billion as the cost-to-sales ratio fell back into the 30% range — the first time since the merger. The improvement was driven by a shift toward new, higher-margin products and increased production efficiency of the TI-version manufacturing line.
Celltrion said this trend signals a sustained recovery in profitability heading into 2026.
Product Performance
Remsima IV/Inflectra sales reached ₩265.3 billion, maintaining stable momentum when excluding last year’s base effect. Market share declined slightly due to broader market volume expansion, but revenue impact was minimal.
Remsima SC sales rose 22.1% to ₩185.1 billion, driven by growth across major EU5 markets and direct sales conversion from Inflectra partners.
Zymfentra sales surged 645% year-on-year to ₩28.1 billion, though full-year guidance was revised slightly lower to the early ₩1 trillion range.
Newly launched products such as Steqima, Stoboclo, Osenvelt, and Omriclo achieved combined quarterly sales exceeding ₩80 billion, with early traction in both North America and Europe.
Licensing and Pipeline
Celltrion continues to strengthen its future growth pipeline through license-in agreements targeting ADCs, bispecific antibodies, and multispecific antibody platforms, the company said.
