Shares South Korean molecular diagnostics company Seegene Inc. that enjoyed global spotlight after a visit by the president amid surging demand for Korean COVID-19 test kits soared Thursday after it reported its best-ever earnings for the first quarter.

Shares of Kosdaq-listed Seegene ended at 128,800 won ($104.9), up 29.97 percent from the previous day.

On Wednesday, the COVID-19 test kit maker disclosed 39.8 billion won in operating profit in the January-March period, up a whopping 584.3 percent from a year ago. Net profit also soared nearly seven-fold to 33.7 billion won on sales of 81.8 billion won, up 197.6 percent during the same period.

Seegene’s stellar results were largely owed to its popular COVID-19 sampling kits at home and abroad amid the coronavirus pandemic. Korean President Moon Jae-in also visited Seegene’s research facility on March 25 after he received a call from U.S. President Donald Trump about Korean test kits.

The company’s shares until the end of last year remained in the 30,000 won level before skyrocketing in March amid coronavirus outbreak to over 120,000 won.

By Lee Eun-joo

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]