Dong-A ST Posts Record Q2 Sales of KRW 207.8 Billion, Operating Profit Surges 170%
Key Insights
Dong-A ST (search) achieved its highest-ever quarterly sales of KRW 207.8 billion in Q2 2025, a 17.2% year-on-year increase driven by balanced growth across all business divisions.
Operating profit surged 170.4% to KRW 10.9 billion, with net profit reaching KRW 8 billion, swinging from a loss a year earlier.
The ETC segment grew 15.2% to KRW 148.6 billion, with further growth expected from the planned launch of epilepsy (search) drug Xcopri in the second half.
Dong-A ST (search) has posted its highest-ever quarterly sales, recording KRW 207.8 billion ($142 million) for the second quarter of 2025 on a separate financial statement basis, representing a 17.2% increase year-on-year. Operating profit surged 170.4% over the same period to KRW 10.9 billion, while net profit reached KRW 8 billion, swinging from a loss in the prior-year quarter.
The company attributed the record performance to balanced growth across all business divisions, including ethical drugs (ETC), international business, and digital healthcare. Despite increased sales of in-licensed products, which carry greater cost burdens, Dong-A ST (search) maintained its cost-of-sales ratio near year-ago levels through an improved product mix and production efficiencies, enabling the sharp rise in operating profit.
ETC Segment Drives Core Growth
The ETC segment posted sales of KRW 148.6 billion, up 15.2% year-on-year, fueled by steady growth of core products and higher sales of newly introduced items. The company expects additional revenue growth in the second half with the planned launch of Xcopri (cenobamate), an epilepsy (search) treatment.
International and Digital Healthcare Expansion
International business sales increased 20.9% to KRW 46.9 billion, supported by growth in exports of canned Bacchus energy drinks and darbepoetin alfa, an anemia treatment. The digital healthcare segment recorded the most dramatic growth, surging 208% year-on-year to KRW 3.2 billion, driven primarily by higher sales of HiCardi, a real-time electrocardiogram remote monitoring platform. Dong-A ST (search) plans to sustain this momentum with the launch of the new HiCardi M350 in the second half of the year.
R&D Pipeline Advances Across Multiple Therapeutic Areas
Dong-A ST (search) has invested more than 10% of annual sales in research and development each year, and the company indicated it is now entering a virtuous cycle in which clinical progress translates into improved earnings and corporate value.
The DA-1241 treatment for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (search) (MASH) and type 2 diabetes (search), developed through US affiliate Metavia (search), has completed its global Phase 2a clinical trial. The obesity (search) treatment DA-1726 is currently in Part 3 of a global Phase 1 trial, designed to confirm safety and optimize tolerability at higher dosages based on a dose-escalation strategy.
In neuroscience, the tau (search) aggregation inhibitor DA-7503 and the immuno-oncology drug DA-4505 are both in Phase 1 clinical trials in Korea. At the Alzheimer's Association International Conference (AAIC), the company disclosed preclinical research results for the GPX4 (search) activator DA-7505 and the tau aggregation inhibitor DA-7503.
Dong-A ST (search) and its subsidiary Aptys (search) also presented ten preclinical research findings on their oncology pipeline at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting. These included a PARP7 (search) inhibitor, an EGFR (search)-targeting protein degrader, and a bispecific antibody-drug conjugate (ADC).
A Dong-A ST (search) representative said, "We achieved record-high quarterly sales driven by balanced growth across ETC, international business, and digital healthcare divisions. We will continue to strengthen business competitiveness and R&D capabilities to advance as a global healthcare company."