Celltrion secures '4T sales'…generating profit after merger

Celltrion's Q4 operating profit of KRW 472.2 billion·an operating margin of 36%...recorded quarterly high

Completed adjustment of merger cost· inventory structural adjustment… accelerated profitability improvement

Expanded Zymfentra·new products, CDMO initiated…proposed 2026 revenue target of KRW 5.3T

In 2025, Celltrion posted 'record sales' by surpassing KRW 4 trillion in annual revenue and 1 trillion KRW in operating profit.

The company successfully eliminated concerns regarding declining profitability after merger with Celltrion Healthcare late-2023. Last year, Celltrion achieved an operating margin of 36%.

In 2026, growth is expected to continue based on the expanding sales of new pipelines like Zymfentra and the growth of the CDMO (Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization) business.

Steady sales growth, 'Profitability quantum jump' in 2025

Reviewing Celltrion's performance over the last two years, 2024 can be viewed as an 'adjustment phase' during which the company absorbed accounting costs related to the merger. 2025 can be seen a 'recovery phase', characterized by sales growth and cost reduction.

During an online briefing last November, Chairman Seo Jung-jin expressed confidence, stating, "We have emerged from the long tunnel of merger-related adjustments through the third and fourth quarters."

Such statement was validated by the 2025 results, which showed profitability improving at an accelerating pace toward the end of the year.

Celltrion's sales and operating profits over 4 years (source: FSS, unit: KRW 100 million). GREEN: sales, ORANGE: operating profits

According to preliminary announcement results disclosed on December 31, 2025, Celltrion's Q4 revenue reached KRW 1.2839 trillion with an operating profit of KRW 472.2 billion, yielding an operating margin of 36.8%. This represents a significant year-over-year surge in operating profit.

At the time of the merger, Celltrion Healthcare's existing inventory was recorded at market value. In 2024, as this high-cost inventory was recognized as revenue, profit margins were suppressed to single digits.

However, as this inventory was depleted during the first half of 2025 and replaced with products manufactured directly by Celltrion at lower costs, the Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) ratio plummeted.

Celltrion official said, "With the depletion of high-cost pre-merger inventory and the completion of development cost amortization, which were factors that exerted inevitable pressure on operating profit, combined with titer improvement, operating profit is expected to grow steeply."

By Q4 2025, the COGS ratio fell to a tentative 36.1%, a 3 percentage point decrease from the 39% recorded in Q3. Q4 EBITDA is projected to reach KRW 538.9 billion, a record quarterly high.

Celltrion analyzes its success to the global stabilization of high-margin new products alongside steady growth in its core portfolio.

Despite conservative accounting for market volatility, new products, including Remsima SC (U.S. product name: Zymfentra), Yuflyma, Vegzelma, and Steqeyma, all recorded double-digit growth in Q4. 

Celltrion's quarterly sales and operating profit over two years (source: FSS, unit: KRW 100 million). PURPLE: sales, ORANGE: operating profits

These new products are expected to show stark growth, accounting for over 60% of total revenue.

Zymfentra is expected to generate even higher revenue in 2026, as the impact of PBM listings and initial marketing investments in early 2025 transitions into full-scale prescription expansion in the second half of the year.

Celltrion official said, "For some new products, the timing of their launch was delayed due to factors such as patent settlements for stable product supply, resulting in a somewhat limited effect on annual performance improvement," and added, "From next year, as we expand market share and enter a full-scale profitability enhancement track, we expect a high growth trend in 2026."

2026 revenue target of KRW 5.3 trillion…CDMO business in full-scale

Celltrion proposed 2026 revenue target of KRW 5.3 trillion.

While Celltrion's 2026 revenue target of 5.3 trillion KRW is slightly lower than previous long-term projections , which once aimed for KRW 7 trillion. The company is showing commitment to crossing the KRW 5 trillion threshold.

In 2026, the effects of Zymfentra's inclusion in major U.S. PBM listings will be reflected for a full year. As the company enters a phase where increased prescription volume leads directly to profit, significant revenue growth is expected from Zymfentra as a single item alone.

In addition, the company plans to pursue an aggressive bidding 'tender strategy' focused on new products with high net profit, concentrating on substantive growth centered on high-margin product groups rather than expansion of external size through increased supply volume.

Furthermore, with a portfolio of 11 biosimilar products completed in major global countries, Celltrion revealed a strategy to accelerate product launches in each country, focusing on new products, while simultaneously reducing the proportion of high-cost products and maximizing the profitability of high-margin product groups.

Product photo of Zymfentra

Celltrion has a total of 11 products commercialized in the U.S. and Europe. Celltrion aims to expand the number of commercialized products to more than 22 by 2030.

Along with this, the company is emphasizing the full-scale launch of the CDMO business as a key to revenue expansion.

Previously, to specify its mid-to-long-term CDMO business strategy, Celltrion established Celltrion BioSolutions, a specialized CDMO subsidiary, in December 2024, and in August 2025, its subsidiary Celltrion USA decided to acquire a local company with raw material medicine production facilities in the United States.

This is a strategic measure to maintain the framework of the existing CDMO business roadmap while flexibly responding to changes in the external environment, such as U.S. tariff policies, and strengthening responsiveness to global customers.

In addition, the company plans to secure multiple new drug product (DP) and drug substance (DS) production facilities in South Korea.

Celltrion official said, "In this quarter, to enhance investor predictability and timeliness, we announced our forecast performance for the first time before the end of the quarter by applying conservative assumptions considering market volatility," and added. "From 2026, we will focus on steady growth based on high-margin product groups."