PER, EPS, PBR and BPS are calculated in-house from the last 4 quarters (2025Q3–2026Q2) · Dividend yield is based on ₩75 per share · Prices as of the 2026-10-02 close
Arlico Pharm swung to an annual operating profit in 2025, but its most recent quarters have slipped back into deeper losses, leaving the company's earnings direction split between its generic-drug core and its CMO, medical device and health-food diversification.
2025 consolidated revenue reached KRW 201.2 billion with operating profit of KRW 0.99 billion, a turnaround from 2024's operating loss, yet net income stayed negative for a third straight year
2Q2026 operating loss widened to KRW 4.57 billion, the deepest in the trailing four quarters, while revenue eased to KRW 46.9 billion
Non-ETC businesses such as contract manufacturing, medical devices and health functional foods have emerged as revenue diversification pillars
Reimbursement-related sales deductions tied to the choline alfoscerate cognitive-enhancer class remain a recurring source of earnings volatility
The stock trades at a price-to-book ratio below 1x, while a negative per-share profit makes a price-to-earnings comparison difficult to calculate
Founded in 1992, Arlico Pharm is a mid-sized Korean pharmaceutical company whose core business is domestic sales of ethical (prescription) drugs, expanded over time into contract manufacturing (CMO), pharmaceutical and goods exports, medical device manufacturing and sales, and health functional food and cosmetics development.
Its flagship products include the dyslipidemia drug Cres, the GERD treatment Nexilium, the Alzheimer's drug Alcept, and the cognitive enhancer Coliatin, alongside multiple items in hypertension, digestive and respiratory categories.
Sales operate heavily through a CSO (contract sales organization) structure, and the company has been expanding market share through outsourced CSO sales along with diversification into health functional foods and cosmetics.
New businesses include a women's healthcare brand and medical devices such as wound dressings and drug infusion devices, with the company continuing strategic investment in women's care under its 'Innersu' brand and in medical device ventures, generating results in implantable drug infusion devices and joint protection devices.
In health functional foods, the company has launched products such as 'Hyper Vita' and 'Hyper Immune Shot' to fill gaps left in the prescription cholinergic market.
Manufacturing is centered on a C-GMP plant in Jincheon, North Chungcheong Province, equipped with KGSP warehousing, where contract manufacturing at the Jincheon facility has been gaining momentum, winning roughly KRW 20 billion in annual orders that contribute to revenue growth.
The medical device business has also overcome early weakness to post revenue nearing KRW 20 billion, establishing itself as a core business. More recently the company has expanded its over-the-counter lineup, including a topical antifungal nail lacquer product.
Competitively, Arlico contends with other small and mid-sized generic drugmakers for CMO and CSO business, and while it lacks the scale of large peers, it is pursuing a multi-category, diversified portfolio strategy.
| Quarter | Revenue | Operating profit | Op. margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025Q2 | ₩50.3B | ₩1.7B | 3.3% |
| 2025Q3 | ₩52.2B | ₩4,030,347 | 0.0% |
| 2025Q4 | ₩48.3B | -₩1.7B | −3.5% |
| 2026Q1 | ₩48.3B | -₩1.8B | −3.6% |
| 2026Q2 | ₩46.9B | -₩4.6B | −9.8% |
| Year | Revenue | Operating profit | Net income (parent) | Op. margin | ROE | Debt-to-equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | ₩167.7B | ₩9.9B | ₩8B | 5.9% | 9.1% | 73.4% |
| 2023 | ₩187.2B | ₩3.1B | ₩3.1B | 1.6% | 3.4% | 94.8% |
| 2024 | ₩190.4B | -₩5.2B | -₩5.4B | −2.7% | −6.7% | 116.3% |
| 2025 | ₩201.2B | ₩1B | -₩600M | 0.5% | −0.8% | 119.7% |
Consolidated basis (financial statements including subsidiaries) · Final figures from DART filings · Net income attributable to owners of the parent · Data as of 2026-08-23
On a consolidated basis, Arlico Pharm's revenue rose steadily from KRW 167.7 billion in 2022 to KRW 187.2 billion in 2023, KRW 190.4 billion in 2024, and KRW 201.2 billion in 2025, while profitability swung sharply over the same period.
Operating profit fell from KRW 9.86 billion (5.9% margin) in 2022 to KRW 3.07 billion (1.6%) in 2023, turned negative at KRW -5.16 billion (-2.7%) in 2024, and recovered to a thin KRW 0.99 billion (0.5%) in 2025.
Net income attributable to owners dropped from KRW 8.03 billion in 2022 to KRW 3.06 billion in 2023, then posted losses of KRW -5.36 billion in 2024 and KRW -0.61 billion in 2025 — a third consecutive year of net losses, though the 2025 shortfall narrowed sharply versus 2024 without reaching breakeven.
Quarterly, 2Q2025 delivered revenue of KRW 50.3 billion with operating profit of KRW 1.66 billion and net income of KRW 0.53 billion, but 3Q2025 revenue of KRW 52.2 billion produced only a marginal operating profit of roughly KRW 4 million and swung back to a net loss of KRW -0.55 billion.
Revenue eased to KRW 48.3 billion in 4Q2025 with an operating loss of KRW -1.69 billion and net loss of KRW -0.98 billion, and losses persisted into 1Q2026 (revenue KRW 48.3 billion, operating loss KRW -1.76 billion, net loss KRW -0.62 billion).
In 2Q2026, revenue slipped further to KRW 46.9 billion while the operating loss widened to KRW -4.57 billion, the largest in the trailing five quarters, though the net loss of KRW -0.69 billion was comparatively smaller, suggesting non-operating items partially cushioned the bottom line.
Summed over the trailing four quarters (3Q2025-2Q2026), owner net income stood at KRW -2.85 billion, indicating an annualized return to profit has not yet been confirmed.
On cash flow, 2025 operating cash flow improved markedly to KRW 10.0 billion from KRW -8.6 billion in 2024, a notable sign of cash-generation recovery even as accounting profit remained negative.
Korea's pharmaceutical market has continued to expand alongside the country's transition into a super-aged society, with rising drug demand and growth in both ethical and over-the-counter product discovery, as the domestic pharmaceutical market posted an average annual growth rate of 8.15% between 2020 and 2024.
Within this growth trajectory, one financial data provider notes that Arlico Pharm has renewed its higher-margin ethical drug lineup, built parallel small- and large-batch production systems, and secured an early position in CSO sales, delivering a compound annual growth rate of 13.69% from 2012 to 2025.
That said, the generic and prescription drug market remains constantly exposed to policy risks such as government price cuts and reimbursement re-evaluations, which directly affect individual companies' margins.
The choline alfoscerate drug class (including Coliatin) has repeatedly faced industry-wide clinical-usefulness re-evaluation issues, and this regulatory uncertainty has already shown up as a sales deduction affecting results.
In contract manufacturing, capacity-expansion competition continues from large pharma down to small and mid-sized players, and Arlico has responded by expanding its Jincheon plant.
Diversification into health functional foods, medical devices and cosmetics is a common growth strategy among Korea's smaller pharma companies, and Arlico is likewise extending into adjacent areas such as women's healthcare and animal medicine.
Relative to competitors, the company falls short of large peers in economies of scale but belongs to a group of mid-sized companies attempting market penetration through CSO leverage and a diversified multi-category portfolio.
In 2023, at a ceremony marking the expansion of its Jincheon plant, Arlico Pharm's management stated a target of achieving revenue of over KRW 300 billion by 2025, but actual 2025 consolidated revenue of KRW 201.2 billion fell short of that goal.
That said, the company's trajectory is broadly consistent with an earlier claim that the company, founded in 1992, was on the verge of achieving KRW 200 billion in revenue for the first time based on preliminary third-quarter results.
Going forward, growth is likely to be driven by non-ETC segments such as contract manufacturing, medical devices and health functional foods, with a company representative stating that new businesses including women's care products, health functional foods and animal-related products are gradually increasing their revenue contribution.
On the product pipeline, new items such as the osteoporosis combination drug Allirocdi have received regulatory approval, while R&D on a new drug for macular degeneration and improved (incrementally modified) drugs targeting expectorants, allergy and chronic hepatitis is ongoing.
R&D spending has been running at roughly KRW 4.6 billion annually in pursuit of future growth drivers, a level consistent with a mid-sized pharma company.
Still, with recent quarters having slipped back into losses, improving utilization at the Jincheon plant, securing new CMO orders, and managing regulatory risks around choline alfoscerate will likely be key to any profit recovery.
The gap between management's stated growth ambitions and the actual volatility in quarterly results remains something to verify through future performance.
With net income still in the red even on a trailing four-quarter summed basis, a conventional price-to-earnings comparison is effectively difficult to apply to Arlico Pharm at this stage.
The stock's price-to-book ratio sits below 1x, implying it trades at a discount to net asset value, a pattern that can be read as reflecting the earnings instability of recent years.
On dividends, the company has a history of paying cash dividends during profitable years, but with net losses persisting recently, the continuity of that dividend practice is something to watch.
Annual results have moved from an outright loss in 2024 to a narrower loss in 2025, but a clear return to profit has not yet been achieved, and the valuation the market assigns appears to incorporate this earnings uncertainty.
How the valuation evolves going forward is likely to hinge heavily on whether quarterly profit and loss stabilizes into a consistent profitable trend.
PER, EPS, PBR and BPS are all calculated in-house (the same method as Naver and Toss) · Dividend yield = cash dividend per share from DART filings (supplemented by KRX) ÷ current price · As of 2026-08-23
Consolidated operating profit turned positive at KRW 0.99 billion in 2025, a reversal from the KRW -5.16 billion operating loss in 2024. Revenue has also grown for four consecutive years since 2022, reaching KRW 201.2 billion, so top-line expansion has been sustained.
Operating cash flow improved sharply from KRW -8.6 billion in 2024 to KRW 10.0 billion in 2025, a sign of cash-generation recovery alongside the accounting metrics.
The Jincheon plant-based contract manufacturing business has secured roughly KRW 20 billion in annual orders contributing to revenue, while the medical device business has grown to sales nearing KRW 20 billion.
Both businesses are relatively less exposed to the policy risks facing the core generic prescription drug business, and both carry potential to become future pillars of revenue diversification.
New product launches continue, including regulatory approval for the osteoporosis combination drug Allirocdi and the launch of the antifungal nail lacquer Mujocline.
R&D on a new macular degeneration drug and several improved generic drugs is also underway, backed by roughly KRW 4.6 billion in annual R&D spending, reflecting continued efforts to secure mid- to long-term growth options.
Arlico posted operating losses in three of the four quarters from 3Q2025 through 2Q2026, and the 2Q2026 operating loss of KRW -4.57 billion was the largest in the observed window.
Revenue has also trended gently lower, from KRW 52.2 billion in 3Q2025 to KRW 46.9 billion in 2Q2026, meaning the sustainability of the annual return to profit has not yet been confirmed.
A KRW 2.9 billion sales deduction tied to the choline alfoscerate-based cognitive enhancer Coliatin was recorded in 2025, and this drug class has repeatedly faced industry-wide clinical-usefulness re-evaluation issues.
Given the company's prescription-drug-centered revenue structure, this kind of policy variable remains a persistent risk that can continue to affect results.
In 2023, management set a target of exceeding KRW 300 billion in revenue by 2025, but actual 2025 consolidated revenue reached only KRW 201.2 billion, about two-thirds of that goal.
This illustrates a gap that has existed between the company's stated growth expectations and actual results, a point worth weighing when assessing the credibility of future guidance.
The 2025 debt ratio stood at 119.7%, sharply higher than 73.4% in 2022.
Given a 2024 episode in which weak share performance triggered early-redemption (put option) exercises on previously issued convertible bonds, leading to cash outflows, a similar financing and redemption structure could pose a financial burden again in the future.
A revenue structure centered on generic and prescription drugs is constantly exposed to policy changes such as government price cuts and reimbursement re-evaluations.
Because policy adjustments to specific products—such as the choline alfoscerate sales deduction—flow directly into results, any further reimbursement or pricing policy changes could again affect margins.
Over the past five quarters, results have alternated between profit and loss in a pattern that makes earnings direction difficult to predict. With fixed-cost burden from the Jincheon plant expansion still in place, if CMO utilization or new order intake falls short of expectations, operating losses could widen further.
Check the third-quarter report filing to see whether 3Q2026 operating results improve or whether the large operating loss trend from the second quarter continues.
Watch for disclosures of new CMO orders or utilization commentary at the Jincheon plant, as well as any government announcements on reimbursement re-evaluation for drug classes such as choline alfoscerate.
Review the preliminary full-year 2026 earnings disclosure for whether annual net income turns positive and how much the operating margin improves.
Track how quickly recently approved new products such as the osteoporosis combination drug Allirocdi begin contributing to revenue, and whether the health functional food and medical device segments expand their revenue contribution.
Arlico Pharm showed positive signals in 2025 with a return to consolidated operating profit and improved operating cash flow, but it has come back under downward pressure, posting operating losses in three of the five quarters since 3Q2025.
The 2Q2026 operating loss of KRW -4.57 billion in particular was the largest in the observed window, still far from a stable, sustained profitable trend.
The revenue mix is clearly diversifying away from generic prescription drugs toward CMO, medical devices and health functional foods, but policy risks such as reimbursement re-evaluation for choline alfoscerate remain a factor amplifying earnings volatility.
The gap between the previously stated KRW 300 billion revenue target and the actual KRW 201.2 billion result is worth keeping in mind when assessing the credibility of company guidance.
On valuation, a persistent net loss coexists with a price-to-book ratio trading at a discount, and whether quarterly results stabilize going forward will likely be the key variable shaping any future market re-rating.
Ahead of any investment decision, it is worth confirming through the upcoming third-quarter results and full-year preliminary earnings whether the recent loss trend is temporary or structural.
Report written 2026-09-05 · Data as of 2026-09-04
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