Samsung BioLogics, a contract drug manufacturer under South Korea’s Samsung Group, said Monday that its operating profit rose 137 percent on-year to 23.7 billion won ($20.95 million) in the second quarter on the back of increased production at its second plant.

Revenue in the April-June period came in at 125.4 billion won, down 4.3 percent on-year, due to spending on preparatory procedures for a new production cycle at the first plant, the company said.

In terms of net profit, Samsung BioLogics recorded a loss of 9.6 billion won, which marks an 83.2 percent improvement from a net loss of 47.6 billion won in the previous quarter. 

The improvement came as gains from product shipments to its biosimilars development unit Samsung Bioepis were calculated into its profits, according to the company.

Founded in 2011, Songdo-based Samsung BioLogics is a contract drug manufacturer that produces biologic drugs to specification based on orders placed by client pharma companies, including Bristol-Myers Squibb and Roche.

Samsung BioLogics is also the parent company of Samsung Bioepis, a joint venture established with US-based Biogen. Bioepis is a developer of biosimilars -- near-replicas of biologic drugs whose patents have expired.

BioLogics was recently hit with top-level sanctions over a past accounting irregularity. Korea’s financial regulators found that the firm breached disclosure rules by failing to reveal crucial information regarding a stake ownership agreement that may have affected the valuation of its joint venture Bioepis.

By Sohn Ji-young (jys@heraldcorp.com)