Yuhan Corporation makes money from its pharmaceutical division, which accounts for about 60% of revenue (the in-house new drug Leclaza plus in-licensed drugs such as Twynsta, Trajenta and Viread), from consumer-health and over-the-counter products such as Yuhan-Clorox and Beecom-C, and from Yuhan Chemical's exports of active pharmaceutical ingredients. The real key to recent results is the high-margin royalties and milestones from Leclaza, which was out-licensed to J&J in the United States and is sold there as a combination therapy. A surge in net profit was confirmed in the first-quarter 2026 quarterly report, and per company and J&J announcements, a milestone of about ₩45.0 billion (US$30 million) from European commercialization is expected to flow in from the second quarter onward, while long-term survival trial data for the Leclaza combination therapy is due in the second half. The strength is that a high-margin growth engine, Leclaza, sits on top of a stable core business, so as milestones and expanded European sales are reflected the valuation becomes lighter. The main caution is that milestone timing is uneven quarter to quarter, core-business growth is moderate, and pipeline expectations hinge on the second-half trial results.
At-a-glance assessment financial health · growth · profitability · valuation
- Debt ratio, current ratio and interest burden all look healthy.
- Revenue rose 5.8% year over year, and the pace is slowing (3-year trend: rising).
- Most recent quarter (Q1 2026) revenue was 7.2% higher than a year earlier.
- ROE is 8.2% (controlling-interest basis). It is above the sector average.
- Operating margin is 4.8%.
- The forward P/E sits above the sector median, reflecting elevated expectations.
Ownership & governance As of 2025-12-31
Largest shareholder Yuhan Foundation 15.87% (corporate)
Controlling bloc incl. related parties 16.01%
With the controlling bloc holding 16%, control is maintained but the free float is relatively large.
🔎 In-depth analysis
- Yuhan Corporation makes money along three broad tracks.
- First is the pharmaceutical division, which accounts for about 60% of revenue.
- This includes the in-house new drug Leclaza, a lung-cancer treatment, alongside in-licensed drugs brought in from multinational pharma companies and sold domestically (the blood-pressure drug Twynsta, the diabetes drug Trajenta, the hepatitis B drug Viread, and others).
- In-licensed drugs pay a large portion of sales to the original developer, so while revenue is large the retained margin is low.
- Second, consumer-health and over-the-counter products such as Yuhan-Clorox, Beecom-C and Antiphlamine account for roughly 10% of revenue.
- Third, active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) exports and overseas business through Yuhan Chemical make up the rest, supplying anticancer and antiviral ingredients to the United States, Europe and elsewhere.
- In short, on the surface it is a comprehensive pharmaceutical and consumer-goods company, but the real key to recent results is Leclaza.
- Leclaza was out-licensed to Johnson & Johnson (J&J) in the United States and is sold there as a combination therapy (Rybrevant plus Leclaza), with Yuhan taking royalties proportional to sales and milestones (stage-by-stage technology fees) received at each development and commercialization stage.
- This license income carries very high margins and heavily influences net profit.
- The recent close is ₩67,400 and the market cap is ₩5.4 trillion.
- The price sits below its 20-day line (₩72,620) and below its 60-day line (₩82,448).
- Trading below both its short- and mid-term moving averages, the trend is on the subdued side.
- The RSI (a supplementary gauge that weighs upward versus downward strength over the last 14 days on a 0-100 scale) is 36.1, a neutral level.
- The one-month change is -12.3%, the three-month change is -26.3%, and the position versus the 52-week high is -50.4%.
- Relative strength against the KOSPI is 4 (on a 1-99 scale, converting the past year's return versus the index with more weight on recent performance; higher means stronger than the market).
- That places it in roughly the top 97% of all stocks by strength.
- Over the past three months it lagged the index by 42.4%.
- It is best to read the chart alongside trading volume and the dates of disclosures.
- The balance sheet is on the sturdy side.
- The debt ratio (debt relative to equity) is a low 36%, the current ratio (cash-like assets against debt due within a year) is 206%, ample, and the interest coverage ratio is 4x, so the debt burden is not heavy.
- On profitability, two faces appear.
- The operating margin is a low 4.8%, because thin-margin revenue such as the in-licensed drugs, ingredients and consumer goods mentioned earlier is mixed in.
- By contrast, the net margin is 8.9%, actually higher than the operating margin, because non-operating income such as Leclaza royalties and milestones is added to profit.
- The ROE (how much is earned in a year per unit of equity) is 8.2%.
- On valuation, the P/E ratio (how many times one year's profit the share price represents) is 27.66x and the P/B (how many times book net assets) is 2.27x, neither of which is low.
- However, this P/E is based on last year's (2025) results, a year when profit surged.
- Because Leclaza income is on a path to grow further this year as well, converting to this year's expected profit makes the multiple burden one notch lighter at the same share price.
- Revenue growth is moderate.
- 2025 revenue was ₩2,186.6 billion, up +5.8% year over year, and on a five-year average it is a steady mid-single-digit increase.
- The real change appears in profit.
- 2025 operating profit jumped +90% to ₩104.4 billion and net profit +175% to ₩194.1 billion, the result of Leclaza-related royalties and milestones starting to be recognized in earnest.
- This flow continued into the first quarter of 2026 with revenue of ₩526.8 billion (+7%), operating profit of ₩8.8 billion (+37%) and net profit of ₩23.4 billion (+133%).
- The first quarter is Yuhan's seasonal low, and the European commercialization milestone (about ₩45.0 billion) has been deferred to after the second quarter due to each country's insurance-listing procedures.
- In other words, a large chunk of this year's profit has not yet been fully reflected in results.
- On top of this, global sales of J&J's Leclaza combination therapy surged to US$257 million in the first quarter of 2026, up +80% year over year (about 5-fold in two years), so the royalties tied to sales are growing together.
- In sum, the core business is moderate but the Leclaza license income is in a phase set to push profit up this year too, so on this year's expected profit the valuation burden is lower than on last year's basis.
- There is no confirmed basis for next year's profit falling below this year's, so there is no reason to conclude this is a cycle top.
- Recent disclosures center on Leclaza and subsidiary investment.
- On May 20 a single sale/supply contract was disclosed (related to ingredient and finished-product supply), and in the same month a decision on a subsidiary's paid-in capital increase was disclosed as a correction.
- This ties into the flow of capacity expansion at production and ingredient affiliates such as Yuhan Chemical.
- The May 15 quarterly report (2026.03) confirmed the surge in net profit, and in May and June several investor briefings (IR) were held, where the progress of Leclaza was shared.
- According to official announcements from the company and its partner J&J, a milestone of about ₩45.0 billion (US$30 million) from European commercialization is expected to flow in from the second quarter onward, and long-term survival trial data for the Leclaza combination therapy is due in the second half, making it a watershed for pipeline value.
- There were also routine and ownership disclosures such as the governance report and large-holding changes, but their impact on the direction of results is limited.
- The strengths and cautions must be viewed together.
- The strengths are clear.
- The balance sheet is stable, and the domestic new drug Leclaza is rapidly growing its sales in the global market while continuing to add high-margin income in the form of royalties and milestones.
- This income structure offsets the weakness of thin core-business margins at the net-profit line.
- With the share price having corrected sharply from its high, once the milestones set to flow in and the expanded European sales are reflected in results, the P/E - which looked high on last year's basis - becomes considerably lighter on this year's earnings.
- The cautions are also clear.
- Because a large part of profit hinges on Leclaza royalties and milestones, the milestones have uneven timing quarter to quarter (the first-quarter European milestone delay is an example) and depend on the progress of trials, approvals and sales.
- The moderate core-business growth rate, and the fact that pipeline expectations could be adjusted depending on the second-half trial data results, must also be viewed together.
- In summary, it is a combination of a 'stable core business plus a high-margin growth engine in Leclaza'; it is strong if Leclaza sales and milestones proceed on schedule, and its profit volatility grows if that schedule slips or trial results fall short of expectations.
🔎 Valuation vs peers Fairly valued
Compared mainly against traditional large domestic pharmaceutical companies with global license pipelines; Hanmi Pharm is the closest by business structure, while Celltrion and Samsung Biologics are referenced for large pharma and bio multiples.
| Peer | P/E | P/B | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hanmi Pharmaceutical | 30.30x | 4.11x | 13.57% |
| Celltrion | 37.26x | 2.23x | 5.98% |
| Samsung Biologics | 34.37x | 8.23x | 23.95% |
The 28.9x P/E and 2.4x P/B are actually on the lower side within the large domestic pharma and bio peer set (Hanmi Pharm 31.9x P/E, Celltrion 37.6x, Samsung Biologics 36.2x). That said, Yuhan's ROE (8.2%) is lower than Hanmi Pharm (13.6%) and Samsung Biologics (23.9%), so a simple multiple comparison has limits. The key is the profit inflection. The current P/E is based on last year's surged profit, but this year is a phase where the deferred European milestone and the Leclaza sales-linked royalties will be reflected additionally, so the multiple on this year's earnings (forward) falls below this. Taken together, the multiple versus peers is not burdensome and Leclaza income growth provides support, but because a large part of that growth hinges on milestone timing and trial progress, it is viewed at a fair level.
Price history Close · MA20 · MA60
The latest close is ₩67,400 and the market capitalization is ₩5.4 trillion. The price sits below its 20-day moving average (₩72,620) and below its 60-day moving average (₩82,448). It is under both its short- and medium-term moving averages, so the trend looks subdued. The RSI (a supplementary indicator that gauges the strength of gains versus losses over the past 14 days on a 0-100 scale) is 36.1, a neutral level. The one-month change is -12.3%, the three-month change is -26.3%, and the position relative to the 52-week high is -50.4%. Relative strength versus the KOSPI is 4 (on a 1-99 scale, converted from returns against the index over the past year with more weight on recent performance; higher means stronger than the market). It is stronger than roughly 3% of all stocks. Over the past three months it lagged the index by 42.4%. Chart interpretation is best done alongside trading volume and the dates on which disclosures occur.
Relative performance stock vs index · start = 100
Excess return vs index · 3M -42.38% / 6M -63.47% / 12M -73.81%
Key metrics vs sector median
Valuation
The P/E of 27.66x is above the sector median (15.98x). The P/B of 2.27x is above the sector median (1.37x). That said, this P/E is based on last year's (trailing) results. With recent quarterly earnings up sharply, the trailing P/E can look higher than it really is, so a precise read is best done on this year's expected (forward) earnings.
Enterprise value (EV)
EV = market cap + net debt. It reflects cash and debt, so it captures the real cost of the whole business that market cap alone misses; lower multiples are cheaper relative to earnings or sales.
Intrinsic value (DCF estimate)
DCF (discounted cash flow) estimate — discount rate 11.6%, initial growth 3.0%→terminal 2.0%, 10-yr forecast, earnings-based. A reference range that shifts materially with assumptions.
Profitability & financials
Return on equity (ROE) is 8.2%, above the sector average (3.0%). The operating margin is 4.8%. The debt ratio is 36.4%, so the financial structure is stable.
Growth FY2025 · annual report (consolidated)
| Item | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $1.2B | $1.4B | $1.4B | +5.75% ↓ slower |
| Operating profit | $37.8M | $36.4M | $69.2M | +90.19% ↑ faster |
| Net profit | $90.3M | $46.8M | $128.6M | +174.56% ↑ faster |
| 5-year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $1.1B | $1.2B | $1.2B | $1.4B | $1.4B |
| Operating profit | $32.2M | $23.9M | $37.8M | $36.4M | $69.2M |
| Net profit | $65.7M | $60.0M | $90.3M | $46.8M | $128.6M |
| Revenue CAGR | 4-yr avg 6.69% | ||||
Revenue rose 5.8% year over year (2023 ₩1.9 trillion → 2024 ₩2.1 trillion → 2025 ₩2.2 trillion), and the three-year trend is 'rising'. That said, the pace of growth slowed from the prior year. Operating profit rose 90.2% year over year. Profit is growing at an accelerating pace. Over the 5 years on record, revenue compound annual growth (CAGR) is 6.7%. The two-year revenue CAGR is 8.5%. In the most recent quarter (Q1 2026), revenue was 7.2% higher than the same period a year earlier.
Latest quarterly results Q1 2026 · vs year-ago
Technical indicators
What stands out
- The balance sheet is stable in terms of debt and liquidity.
Points to watch
- Revenue rose 5.8% year over year, and the pace is slowing (3-year trend: rising).
- The price is high versus peers, so expectations already appear priced in.
Recent news & events searched · sourced
- 2026-05-20UpdateDisclosure of a single sale/supply contract (related to ingredient and finished-product supply)Expands visibility of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and finished-product supply revenue. Positive for mid-term stability by reinforcing the core-business revenue base. Source
- 2026-05-15EarningsSubmission of the first-quarter 2026 quarterly report - revenue ₩526.8 billion (+7%), operating profit ₩8.8 billion (+37%), net profit ₩23.4 billion (+133%)Confirms the surge in net profit. However, the European commercialization milestone (about ₩45.0 billion) is deferred to after the second quarter, so a large part of this year's profit is not yet reflected. Source
- 2026-05-11FilingDecision on a subsidiary's paid-in capital increase (correction) - related to investment in production and ingredient affiliatesPart of the capacity-expansion flow at ingredient and production affiliates such as Yuhan Chemical. More a matter of strengthening mid-term supply capability than a short-term cost burden. Source
- 2026-06-05IRDisclosure announcing an investor briefing (IR) - communication on Leclaza progress and resultsShares investment information such as the timing of European milestone inflows and the second-half trial schedule. More a matter of information transparency than a change in results themselves. Source
Figure cross-check computed ↔ external
| Metric | Computed | External | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First-quarter 2026 net profit (consolidated) | ₩23.4 billion(+133% YoY) | (2026.03) | Confirmed | link |
| 2025 net profit (consolidated) | ₩194.1 billion(+175% YoY) | (2026.03) | Confirmed | link |
| 2026 European commercialization milestone | approx. ₩45.0 billion | — | Unverified | link |
| Estimated 2026 net profit (internal estimate) | approx. ₩200.0 billion(forward PER approx. 28x) | — | Unverified | link |
Recent filings
- 2026-06-08OwnershipOwnership-change filing
- 2026-06-05Disclosure
- 2026-06-05Disclosure
- 2026-06-01Corporate governance report
- 2026-06-01OwnershipOfficers'/major-shareholders' holdings report
- 2026-05-27OwnershipOfficers'/major-shareholders' holdings report
- 2026-05-20Disclosure
- 2026-05-20Single supply/sales contract
- 2026-05-15PeriodicQuarterly report
- 2026-05-14Disclosure
- 2026-05-11Paid-in capital increase (amended)
- 2026-05-11OwnershipOwnership-change filing
📖 Plain-language glossary — expand if you are new to this
- P/E
- How many times a year's net profit the price is worth (lower is cheaper relative to earnings). The P/E here is on trailing (last full-year) results; for companies whose earnings swing fast (memory chips and other cyclicals/high-growth), a forward P/E on this year's expected earnings is more accurate.
- P/B
- Price relative to net assets (equity). Around 1x means it trades near book value; below 1x means below book.
- P/S
- Price relative to a year's revenue — useful for growth companies with thin earnings.
- Net debt / EV
- Net debt = interest-bearing debt − cash. Negative means more cash than debt (net cash). EV (enterprise value) = market cap + net debt, closer to what it would cost to buy the whole business.
- EV/EBIT · EV/EBITDA · EV/Sales
- Enterprise value against operating profit (EBIT), EBITDA, or revenue. Unlike P/E these reflect debt and cash; lower is cheaper relative to earnings power or sales.
- FCF / FCF yield
- Free cash flow = operating cash − capex, the cash actually left over. FCF yield = FCF ÷ market cap; higher means more cash generated per unit of market value.
- Intrinsic value (DCF)
- Future free cash flow (or, for some capex-heavy but profitable names, forecast earnings) discounted to today to estimate per-share value. Because it shifts a lot with the discount-rate and growth assumptions, it is shown as a bear/base/bull range, and the basis and assumptions are disclosed in one line beneath it.
- ROE
- How much profit the company earns in a year on its equity (%). Higher means better returns on capital.
- EPS / BPS
- Earnings per share / net assets (book value) per share.
- Operating / net margin
- Profit left from the core business / final profit after tax and interest, per unit of revenue.
- Debt ratio
- Debt relative to equity (%). Higher means more reliance on borrowing (norms vary by sector).
- Current ratio
- Assets convertible to cash within a year against debt due within a year. Above 100% leaves some short-term headroom.
- Interest coverage
- How many times operating profit covers the interest owed. Below 1x means operating profit alone struggles to cover interest.
- Dividend yield / payout ratio
- The year's dividend as a % of today's price / the share of earnings paid out as dividends.
- Revenue CAGR
- Multi-year growth expressed as a single yearly average (compound annual growth rate).
- RSI (short-term signal)
- Whether recent price action is overheated or beaten down. Above 70 is overbought, below 30 oversold.
- MA20 / MA60 (moving averages)
- The 20- and 60-day average price. Price above them signals a firmer short-term trend.
- vs 52-week high
- How far below the past year's peak the price sits now (%).
All figures are for reference only; how they read varies by sector and over time.
Sources: Korea FSC market-price API (data.go.kr), OpenDART, KRX/KIND — public data only.
Bong Stocks presents public-data-based information for reference only. It is not investment advice and contains no target prices, ratings, or buy/sell recommendations. Verify independently before making any decision.