by S BIRRUNTHA / pic by TMR FILE

PHARMANIAGA Bhd recorded a strong net profit of RM49.84 million for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2021 (3Q21) from just RM1.44 million in the previous corresponding quarter, following a tremendous jump in the group’s revenue.

The pharmaceuticals group registered a revenue of RM2.13 billion for the quarter which was more than three times of RM624.80 million posted a year ago, underpinned by positive growth across the group’s concession, non-concession and Indonesian businesses.

In a filing to Bursa Malaysia today, Pharmaniaga said the non-concession business was a key driver due to sales of the Sinovac Covid-19 Vaccine to the Ministry of Health (MoH) as well as the private sector. 

“This saw the group successfully completing the delivery of 20.4 million doses to MoH to date, while almost two million doses have been delivered to the private sector,” it noted.

Earnings per share (EPS) for the period also surged to 3.81 sen from 0.11 sen in 3Q20.

The group has declared a third interim dividend of two sen per share, which is payable on Dec 29, 2021.

For the cumulative period of nine months ended Sept 30, 2021, Pharmaniaga’s net profit jumped 156.3% to RM86.68 million from RM33.82 million a year ago, on the back of a 96% rise in revenue to RM4.1 billion from RM2.09 billion previously.

On segmental performance, the group said its logistics and distribution division recorded a lower pre-tax profit of RM33 million for the period under review, compared with RM42 million in the same period last year.

It noted that there was a surge in demand for ventilators and personal protective equipment (PPE) in the previous period during the initial outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Pharmaniaga’s manufacturing division turned in a profit before tax (PBT) of RM122 million, a significant increase as compared with the corresponding period last year, mainly contributed by the fill and finish manufacturing of Sinovac Covid-19 Vaccine as well as an imported finished vaccine from Sinovac Life Sciences Co. Ltd. 

It noted that with the continued expansion of the vaccine manufacturing business and demand, the long-term prospect of the division remains optimistic. 

On prospects, Pharmaniaga said the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (NCIP) in Malaysia has resulted in substantial reduction in the number of Covid-19 positive cases since July 2021.