Bukwang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (“Bukwang”) announced that all of the seven resolutions proposed to its 58th general meeting were approved in accordance with the original bills by considerably larger number of favorable votes.
For the past few years, Bukwang has experienced minimal growth rate due to continuous drug price cut and discontinuation of certain products (i.e. Parodontax). Nevertheless, Bukwang recently has signed contracts to add nine new products in its portfolio, introduced approximately 100 generic and OTC products, and entered into sales agreements to export Dexid to five Southeast Asian countries. Also, Bukwang has created growth momentum with much effort, including the enhancement of its sales force via sales department reorganization and securing new clients. As the result, Bukwang has achieved 5.6% growth in sales for the fiscal year of 2017. Bukwang expects that the momentum will continue this year along with the increase in the sales of new products.
In regards to R&D expenditure, Bukwang had received a claim that increase in R&D expenditures translated into decreased profits. To counter the argument, Bukwang explained that the increase in R&D expenditures were supported and covered by available investment profits. For the last three years, Bukwang has generated approximately 32.5B KRW investment profits from its three domestic and foreign investment portfolios, including Eyegene. In addition, Bukwang has unrealized capital gains of 6.5B KRW from its investment in Acer Therapeutics Inc and 130B KRW from its investment in Antrogen. At the same time, Bukwang maintains operating profit margin of 10%, which is a top result in the industry.
Bukwang mentioned that the company has strived to ensure sound management and create diversified sources of income through continuous expansion of investment portfolio, and Bukwang announced that its market capital has tripled since 2013.
After the general meeting, Bukwang held a board meeting to revert to professional management and nominated CEO Hee-Won Yoo for the position. CEO Yoo said: Bukwang will do its best to maximize profit sharing through continuous growth and the development of new drugs which can enhance the future value of the company.