South Korea’s biopharmaceutical company Hugel Inc. saw its operating profit rise 2.4 percent quarter over quarter in the first quarter on brisk sales of its cosmetic treatment products.

Hugel said in a regulatory filing on Friday that it raised 16.4 billion won ($14 million) in operating income on a consolidated basis in the January-March period, up 2.4 percent from the previous quarter despite a 16.5 percent drop in revenue to 49.1 billion won. From a year ago, Hugel’s operating income fell 26.3 percent fall and sales up 7.3 percent.

Hugel said brisk sales of its cosmetic treatment medicines at home and abroad helped its operating income increase on quarter despite seasonally low demand. Its operating margin added 6.2 percent on quarter to 33.4 percent.

In Korea, Hugel’s botulinum toxin container Botulax saw a 25 percent jump in sales in the first quarter from a year earlier and its hyaluronic acid filler Chaeum, up 91 percent during the same period. Botulax raised 53 billion won in sales last year, attributing to the company’s record annual sales.

Hugel launched The Chaeum Style in March, completing its full lineup of its hyaluronic acid filler Chaeum, and synergy with Botulax began to take effect from the end of last year, said the company.

Hugel’s solid overseas sales were led by the company’s diversification of sales outlets for hyaluronic acid filler products currently being exported to 19 countries in Asia, Latin America, and Europe. The company applied for marketing approval for Botulax in China in the end of April, raising hopes that it would receive the green light for its sale in the first quarter of next year in China. Hugel plans to enter Europe in 2021 and North America in 2022, a move that is expected to allow it to raise sales in key overseas markets in a three-year period.

Hugel also expects to see a substantial rise in sales in Taiwan, where the company received sales approval in December last year, with its sale expected to begin in the second quarter. It also plans to expand sales in Russia, where it advanced in 2017, and Brazil.

Hugel plans to continuously expand sales and market share in the global market by making forays into new markets while in Korea boosting synergy between Botulax and Chaeum products.

By Kim Byung-ho and Lee Eun-joo

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