Dong-A ST is a pharmaceutical company whose revenue leans heavily on prescription drugs such as the growth-hormone treatment Growtropin, the gastrointestinal drug Motilitone, and the diabetes drug Sugarnon, supplemented by contract manufacturing and the biosimilar Imuldosa; it recycles the cash generated by its best-selling drugs into the development of obesity treatments and biosimilars. Preliminary results on April 27 flagged a return to profit in the first quarter, and the May 15 quarterly report confirmed revenue of ₩203.6 billion, operating profit of ₩7.8 billion, and net profit of ₩7.9 billion; with its prescription-drug core growing steadily (+15.9% last year, +11.8% in Q1) and a P/B of 0.51x — about half the sector median. The point worth watching now is that if the core prescription business holds up and development results feed through to revenue and profit, carrying the Q1 profit through the full year, the low forward P/E and P/B stand out together — whereas for full-year 2025 operating profit was only around breakeven and net profit was a loss, and the durability of profitability hinges on the pace of R&D spending.
At-a-glance assessment financial health · growth · profitability · valuation
- Operating profit barely covers the interest bill (interest coverage below 1x).
- The most recent full-year net result was a loss.
- Revenue rose 15.9% year over year, and the pace is quickening (3-year trend: rising).
- Most recent quarter (Q1 2026) revenue was 11.8% higher than a year earlier.
- ROE is -4.5% (controlling-interest basis). It is below the sector average.
- Operating margin is 0.1%.
- P/E is hard to compute here, so this is read on P/B.
Ownership & governance As of 2019-12-31
Largest shareholder Kang Jung-seok 0.33% (individual)
Controlling bloc incl. related parties 0.33%
With the controlling bloc holding 0%, ownership is dispersed, leaving room for control-related or activist dynamics.
🔎 In-depth analysis
- Dong-A ST is a pharmaceutical company whose revenue rests mainly on prescription drugs (ETC) dispensed on a physician's order.
- It makes and sells, at home and abroad, products such as the growth-hormone treatment Growtropin, the gastrointestinal drugs Motilitone and Stillen, the diabetes drug Sugarnon, antibiotics, and IV fluids.
- Added to this are a can (bulk prescription-drug active ingredient) business that produces on contract for export, and its self-developed immune-disease biosimilar (Imuldosa, a copy of Stelara) sold through overseas partners.
- In short, it is an R&D-driven drugmaker that earns cash from drugs that already sell well and reinvests it into drugs still in development, such as obesity treatments and biosimilars.
- The latest close is ₩35,100 and market capitalization is ₩341.4 billion.
- The price sits above the 20-day line (₩34,992) but below the 60-day line (₩39,762).
- With the short- and medium-term trends diverging, the direction should be read separately for each.
- The RSI (a supplementary gauge that weighs the strength of gains against losses over the past 14 days on a 0–100 scale) is 44.7, a neutral level.
- The one-month change is -3.2%, the three-month change is -17.7%, and the position versus the 52-week high is -39.3%.
- Relative strength versus the KOSPI is 8 (on a 1–99 scale, computed from returns against the index over the past year with more recent performance weighted more heavily; higher means stronger than the market).
- That places it in roughly the top 93% by strength among all stocks.
- Over the past three months it lagged the index by 36.0%.
- Chart readings are best viewed alongside trading volume and disclosure dates.
- On a confirmed annual (2025) basis, the P/E ratio (how many times one year's net profit the share price is) cannot be computed because net profit was a loss that year.
- But this loss came not from a broken business but from front-loading R&D spending on new drugs such as obesity treatments and biosimilars, so measuring the company's strength by the trailing twelve months alone tends to understate it.
- In fact, operating and net profit turned positive in Q1 2026, and the forward P/E reflecting the year ahead is, if anything, on the low side compared with profitable peer prescription drugmakers (Daewoong Pharmaceutical, JW Pharmaceutical); for a company whose profit is inflecting from loss to gain, this forward figure is closer to the company's true picture.
- The P/B (how many times per-share net asset value the share price is) is 0.53x, less than half the sector median of 1.44x, which is clearly cheap relative to book assets.
- A debt ratio of 115.2% is not heavy for the pharma industry, and a current ratio of 152% leaves room in short-term solvency.
- The interest coverage ratio was below 1x, so in the loss-making year operating profit alone was tight in covering interest — something to verify as the return to profit continues.
- Revenue grew steadily from ₩593.2 billion in 2021 to ₩808.8 billion in 2025 (a five-year average of +8.1%, +10.4% over the last two years), and last year alone it rose +15.9%, so the pace of growth actually quickened.
- On top of steady sales of growth-hormone, diabetes, and gastrointestinal prescription drugs, biosimilar revenue heading overseas was added, so the core business itself grew solidly.
- Operating profit swung around — from ₩15.6 billion in 2021 to -₩25.0 billion in 2024 and ₩0.6 billion in 2025 — largely because R&D spending on new drugs was front-loaded all at once.
- As that investment phase wound down, the Q1 2025 operating loss (-₩4.8 billion) turned into a Q1 2026 operating profit (+₩7.8 billion, net profit +₩7.9 billion), and revenue over the same period rose +11.8% to ₩203.6 billion.
- This combination — double-digit revenue growth alongside a move into profitable territory — underlies the forward P/E reflecting the year ahead.
- In other words, the forward figure comes from a real change: the revenue growth trend and the return to profit confirmed in Q1; if this carries through the year, the low price relative to assets has room to stand out.
- The main threads of disclosure are confirming results and IR communication.
- On April 27, 2026, preliminary results (fair disclosure) flagged the Q1 return to profit first, and on the same day and on April 23 the company announced investor relations (IR) events, opening a forum to explain results and business progress directly.
- The May 15 quarterly report firmed up the figures as confirmed: revenue ₩203.6 billion, operating profit ₩7.8 billion, net profit ₩7.9 billion.
- The April 16 disclosure on "major management matters relevant to investment judgment" flags material changes related to business and technology — a signal to watch especially closely for a company with a large share of new-drug and technology-licensing activity.
- Into June, regular disclosures such as the corporate governance report and sustainability management report followed.
- Reading these disclosures and IR originals as primary sources, rather than general news articles, is the accurate approach.
- The strengths are clear.
- The core prescription business is growing revenue at nearly double-digit rates (+15.9% last year, +11.8% in Q1), operating and net profit turned positive in Q1 2026, and the forward P/E reflecting that trend is lower than those of profitable peer prescription drugmakers.
- A P/B of 0.51x is about half the sector median, cheap relative to assets as well.
- Points to weigh alongside: for full-year 2025 operating profit was still only around breakeven and net profit was a loss, and the durability of profitability depends on the pace of new-drug R&D spending.
- In sum, if the core prescription business holds, obesity and biosimilar development results feed through to revenue and profit, and the Q1 profit carries through the year, the low forward P/E and P/B stand out together; conversely, if R&D spending erodes profit again or the quarterly profit proves one-off, that appeal weakens.
- Rather than deciding one way or the other, the first thing to confirm is whether the profit persists beyond a single quarter.
🔎 Valuation vs peers Inconclusive
Instead of Samsung Biologics (contract manufacturing) or Celltrion/HLB (bio), the peer set is traditional prescription drugmakers whose business substance is closer — in-house production, domestic ETC focus — because although Dong-A ST develops both synthetic and biologic new drugs, its revenue mix is closer to traditional pharma.
| Peer | P/E | P/B | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yuhan Corporation | 27.66x | 2.27x | 8.22% |
| Daewoong Pharmaceutical | 7.79x | 1.52x | 19.47% |
| JW Pharmaceutical | 8.97x | 1.49x | 16.65% |
| Yungjin Pharm | — | 2.33x | -0.25% |
(a) Position versus peers: its P/B is the lowest among the traditional-pharma peer set and its ROE is the weakest, being a loss — so it is priced cheaply on assets but has not yet matched peers on profitability. (b) Premium/discount: given that profitable companies such as Daewoong Pharmaceutical (ROE 19.5%, P/B 1.38) and JW Pharmaceutical (ROE 16.7%, P/B 1.71) carry higher P/Bs, Dong-A ST's low P/B is reasonably read as a discount until a recovery in profitability is confirmed. (c) Limits of trailing and the forward basis: with a 2025 loss, the trailing P/E cannot even be computed, but the Q1 2026 return to operating and net profit points to a possible profit inflection. Since there is no official company annual guidance, the forward view can only be gauged from a DART seasonality approximation (revenue of about ₩912.5 billion), and profit cannot even be approximated — so rather than declaring it cheap or expensive, it is appropriate to judge after confirming whether the return to profit persists.
Earnings outlook company-stated · verified
| Type | Period | Revenue | Operating profit | Net profit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Next quarter | Q2 2026 | approx. ₩225.6 billion | — | — |
Price history Close · MA20 · MA60
The latest close is ₩35,100 and the market capitalization is ₩341.4 billion. The price sits above its 20-day moving average (₩34,992) and below its 60-day moving average (₩39,762). Short-term and medium-term trends are diverging, so the direction is best read separately. The RSI (a supplementary indicator that gauges the strength of gains versus losses over the past 14 days on a 0-100 scale) is 44.7, a neutral level. The one-month change is -3.2%, the three-month change is -17.7%, and the position relative to the 52-week high is -39.3%. Relative strength versus the KOSPI is 8 (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 7% of all stocks. Over the past three months it lagged the index by 36.0%. 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 -35.98% / 6M -58.27% / 12M -69.70%
Key metrics vs sector median
Valuation
A net loss makes the P/E an unreliable valuation gauge. The P/B of 0.53x is below the sector median (1.37x).
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.
Profitability & financials
Return on equity (ROE) is -4.5%, below the sector average (3.0%). The operating margin is 0.1%. The debt ratio is 115.2%, so the financial structure is moderate.
Growth FY2025 · annual report (consolidated)
| Item | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $440.1M | $462.5M | $536.0M | +15.89% ↑ faster |
| Operating profit | $7.4M | -$16.6M | $413,034 | — |
| Net profit | $7.4M | -$810,609 | -$19.0M | — |
| 5-year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $393.2M | $421.1M | $440.1M | $462.5M | $536.0M |
| Operating profit | $10.4M | $11.1M | $7.4M | -$16.6M | $413,034 |
| Net profit | $8.5M | $9.0M | $7.4M | -$810,609 | -$19.0M |
| Revenue CAGR | 4-yr avg 8.06% | ||||
Revenue rose 15.9% year over year (2023 ₩664.0 billion → 2024 ₩697.9 billion → 2025 ₩808.8 billion), and the three-year trend is 'rising'. The pace of growth also quickened from the prior year. Over the 5 years on record, revenue compound annual growth (CAGR) is 8.1%. The two-year revenue CAGR is 10.4%. In the most recent quarter (Q1 2026), revenue was 11.8% higher than the same period a year earlier.
Latest quarterly results Q1 2026 · vs year-ago
Technical indicators
What stands out
- P/E and P/B are both low versus peers, so the price looks inexpensive relative to earnings and assets.
- Revenue grew 15.9% year over year, a sign of growth.
Points to watch
- Operating profit barely covers the interest bill (interest coverage below 1x).
- The most recent full-year net result was a loss.
- The most recent full year was a loss, so it is worth checking whether profitability recovers.
Recent news & events searched · sourced
- 2026-04-27EarningsQ1 2026 preliminary operating results (fair disclosure) — revenue ₩203.6 billion, operating profit about ₩7.8 billion, a turn to profit from an operating loss a year earlierShort term: the first confirmation of a turn to quarterly profit from a loss phase. Medium term: whether this profit carries through the full year (the pace of R&D spending) is the key valuation variable. Source
- 2026-04-27IRInvestor relations (IR) event announced — an official forum for the company to explain Q1 results and business progress directlyShort term: results and pipeline progress can be verified through the company's official channel. Medium term: a conduit to check the business substance, including new-drug timelines and overseas partner progress. Source
- 2026-05-15UpdateQ1 2026 quarterly report filed — revenue ₩203.6 billion, operating profit ₩7.8 billion, net profit ₩7.9 billion confirmedShort term: preliminary figures firm up as confirmed. Medium term: a primary source to check directly, in the original text, the size of the quarterly profit and the cost structure (including R&D). Source
- 2026-04-16FilingDisclosure of major management matters relevant to investment judgment — an item flagging material changes related to business and technologyShort term: a signal flagging possible material changes tied to new drugs and technology. Medium term: an item to check for a link to revenue and cash flow, given the company's large R&D weight. Source
- 2026-06-01FilingCorporate governance report disclosed — an annual regular disclosure on the board and shareholder rightsShort-term impact is limited. Medium term: a reference to check for changes in governance and shareholder-return policy. Source
Figure cross-check computed ↔ external
| Metric | Computed | External | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P/B (share price versus per-share net asset value) | 0.56x | BPS ₩66,069 · ₩36,950 → 0.56x | Confirmed | link |
| Q1 2026 turn to operating profit | operating profit ₩7.8 billion, net profit ₩7.9 billion | DART / | Confirmed | link |
| 2026 full-year revenue approximation | approx. ₩912.5 billion | — | Unverified | link |
| Latest closing price | ₩35,100 | — | Unverified | link |
Recent filings
- 2026-06-05Disclosure
- 2026-06-01Corporate governance report
- 2026-05-15PeriodicQuarterly report
- 2026-04-27Disclosure
- 2026-04-27EarningsFair-disclosure notice
- 2026-04-23Disclosure
- 2026-04-23EarningsEarnings disclosure
- 2026-04-16Disclosure
- 2026-04-03Disclosure
- 2026-03-31OwnershipOfficers'/major-shareholders' holdings report
- 2026-03-31OwnershipOfficers'/major-shareholders' holdings report
- 2026-03-31OwnershipOfficers'/major-shareholders' holdings report
📖 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.