HEM Pharma (376270) 🔎 In-depth
KOSDAQ · Price as of 2026-08-06 · Updated 2026-08-09
HEM Pharma is a microbiome healthcare company that analyzes gut microbes and metabolites from stool samples to propose personalized health solutions; built on its own platform (PMAS), it earns money from a personalized analysis service ("MYLAB"), health functional foods, and contract development and manufacturing (CDMO), and is expanding abroad through a Japanese subsidiary. In May it signed a roughly ₩2.08 billion analysis contract (16.06% of recent revenue) with its Japanese subsidiary, but as a subsidiary counterparty it may be offset as an intercompany transaction on a consolidated basis; in March a company-split agenda failed to pass the shareholders' meeting and was withdrawn, and while first-quarter revenue rose more than 40%, the loss continued. What stands out lately is that if Japan revenue expands to outside customers and the quarterly loss shrinks quickly, the top-line story of its differentiated analysis platform gains force; on the other hand, with shareholders' equity (about ₩5.0 billion) smaller than a single year's net loss (about ₩23.8 billion), the capital is so thin that if the turn to profit is delayed or capital replenishment becomes necessary, that thin capital stands out as a weakness.
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30-second brief
Pulled directly from the computed values below — not a separately written opinion.
What do the SourceComputedEstimateReading tags mean?
Source filings and exchange data · Computed calculated from public data · Estimate our own unverified projection · Reading drafted automatically, then rule-checked. See AI & Automation.
Core valuation metric
This stock's effective sub-sector is “Biotech (Drug Development & Research)” (Biotech & Pharmaceuticals), a type best read first through qualitative factors such as pipeline value and cash runway rather than earnings multiples.
Drug-discovery biotech firms often have little in the way of earnings or revenue yet, so P/E or sales multiples can't meaningfully capture their value. Instead, it makes more sense to judge them qualitatively — by the clinical stage of the pipeline, licensing and out-licensing progress, and the cash runway that keeps research going.
That said, profitability is currently weak, so this metric is best treated as a rough reference only.
This note explains how each sector is typically valued and is educational context only, not investment advice.
At-a-glance assessment financial health · growth · profitability · valuation
- Debt far exceeds equity (debt ratio 3524.0%).
- Assets that can be turned to cash within a year fall short of near-term liabilities (current ratio 48.4%).
- The most recent full-year net result was a loss.
- Revenue fell 13.9% year over year (3-year trend: mixed).
- Most recent quarter (Q1 2026) revenue was 40.8% higher than a year earlier.
- ROE is -478.1% (controlling-interest basis). It is below the sector average.
- Operating margin is -120.1%.
- P/E is hard to compute here, so this is read on P/B.
Ownership & governance As of 2025-12-31
Largest shareholder Ji Joseph 12.26% (individual)
Controlling bloc incl. related parties 25.94%
With the controlling bloc holding 26%, control is maintained but the free float is relatively large.
🔎 In-depth analysis Reading
HEM Pharma is a microbiome healthcare company that analyzes the gut microbial community and metabolites from a person's stool sample to propose a health solution tailored to the individual. At its core is a proprietary analysis and simulation platform (PMAS) that screens in advance how each person responds to specific microbes or ingredients. It earns money along three broad lines: (1) a personalized gut-microbiome analysis service ("MYLAB," run together with Amway Korea, is the flagship channel), (2) health functional foods such as probiotics, and (3) contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) using GMP-certified facilities. It is also expanding its gut-microbiome analysis service abroad through a Japanese subsidiary (HEM Pharma Japan), so transactions with the subsidiary form one axis of revenue as well.
The latest close is ₩45,000 and the market capitalization is ₩324.9 billion. The price sits above its 20-day moving average (₩40,168) and below its 60-day moving average (₩46,628). 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 57.5, a neutral level. The one-month change is +5.9%, the three-month change is -25.0%, and the position relative to the 52-week high is -52.1%. Relative strength versus the KOSDAQ is 87 (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 88% of all stocks. Over the past three months it outpaced the index by 9.4%. Chart interpretation is best done alongside trading volume and the dates on which disclosures occur.
On a confirmed annual (FY2025) basis, net profit was in the red, so a P/E ratio cannot be computed, and valuation is viewed via the P/B (share price versus the company's net assets). The P/B is 57.64x, higher than the sector median (about 9.3x). But this figure should be read alongside the structure rather than straight as "expensive." This company's shareholders' equity (BPS about ₩692) is so thin that, with a small net-asset denominator, the P/B multiple easily looks more inflated than it really is. ROE is -478% and operating margin is -120%, so costs still far exceed revenue. The most notable point in the finances is capital resilience. Shareholders' equity is about ₩5.0 billion while the FY2025 net loss reaches about ₩23.8 billion, so capital was eroded quickly, and the debt ratio (debt versus equity) is high at 1,039%. Debt due within a year (current liabilities) exceeds assets readily convertible to cash (current assets), so the current ratio is only 56%. In sum, this is a company where when it escapes the loss and how it replenishes capital matter more than the valuation metrics.
Over five years revenue grew from ₩1.9 billion in 2021 to ₩13.0 billion in 2025, so the top line has steadily expanded (a five-year average growth of about 63%). It fell 13.9% from the prior year (₩15.1 billion in 2024), catching its breath for a year, but the most recent quarter (first quarter 2026) revenue rose 40.8% year on year to ₩4.9 billion, a renewed sign of top-line recovery. The widening of revenue channels across the MYLAB channel, Japan, and CDMO supports this recovery. That said, the operating result was in loss all five years (2025 operating loss about ₩15.6 billion), and the quarterly operating result was still a loss (first quarter 2026 about -₩3.8 billion). So the core question at this stage is less about the growth rate itself and more about "when the increased revenue leads to escaping the loss." The company gives no official annual outlook, so there is no basis yet to declare this year's profit trajectory; gauging revenue alone by quarterly trend, it is appropriate to read weight as leaning toward increasing over last year.
The heart of recent disclosures is three things. First, the 2026-05-14 single-sale/supply contract is a gut-microbiome analysis contract signed with the Japanese subsidiary (HEM Pharma Japan); the amount is about ₩2.08 billion (16.06% of recent revenue, JPY 220 million) and the contract term runs to 2027-05-13. As a transaction with a subsidiary, a considerable portion may be offset as an intercompany transaction on a consolidated basis, so it is best to separately see how much remains as external revenue. Second, the 2026-03-27 material-fact report covers the withdrawal of the company-split plan after the split agenda failed to pass the annual general meeting (the business-structure change is on hold for now). Third, first-quarter 2026 confirmed results were disclosed via the 2026-05-11 quarterly report, confirming both the revenue increase and the continued loss together. The company also holds an IR each quarter to explain the Japan expansion and the loss-reduction path directly, so business progress can be checked through official channels.
The strengths are clear. Armed with PMAS, a differentiated analysis platform, it is widening its top line through real revenue channels like MYLAB and through Japan and CDMO, and the latest quarter's revenue rose more than 40%, a sign of recovery. At the same time, the points to note are also clear. With the annual loss continuing and shareholders' equity (about ₩5.0 billion) smaller than a single year's net loss (about ₩23.8 billion), the capital is thin, so further losses or the question of fundraising can act directly as a share-price variable. That the P/B looks high is largely due to this thin capital, so rather than simply "expensive," it is more accurate to see it as a structure where expectations are placed on top of small net assets. Splitting it out: in a phase where Japan revenue expands to outside customers and the quarterly loss shrinks quickly, the top-line story gains force. Conversely, in a phase where the turn to profit is delayed or capital replenishment becomes necessary, the thin capital stands out as a weakness. In the end it is not a matter of a buy-or-sell verdict, but of separating strength from weakness while checking the two conditions of recovery pace and capital resilience.
🔎 Valuation vs peers Overvalued
Position was compared by placing side by side bio companies growing their top line before reaching meaningful profit — in microbiome and drug development — together with large-cap bios valued for their platform.
| Peer | P/E | P/B | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Genome & Company | — | 1.55x | -6.08% |
| Vaxcell-Bio | — | 1.71x | -21.82% |
| SK Biopharmaceuticals | 24.50x | 7.02x | 37.56% |
| Alteogen | 111.02x | 31.22x | 25.80% |
(a) Position versus true peers: compared with same-stage loss microbiome and drug-development companies (Genome & Company P/B 2.3x, Vaxcell-Bio 1.9x), and even with already-profitable platform bios (SK Biopharm 8.5x, Alteogen 40.6x), HEM Pharma's P/B of 67.9x is conspicuously high. (b) Premium/discount: top-line growth and platform expectations are attached as a premium, but much of that premium stems from thin shareholders' equity shrinking the denominator. That is, it is hard to declare "high P/B = simply expensive"; it is more accurate to read it as a structure where large expectations are placed on top of small net assets. (c) Limits of trailing and the forward basis: prior-year confirmed results were a loss, so value cannot be measured by trailing P/E, and with no official company outlook, future figures were gauged only by a DART seasonality approximation (2026 revenue of about ₩21.8 billion). Therefore, rather than declaring "cheap or expensive" flatly, it is reasonable to view it as a zone where expectations run ahead until a turn to profit and capital resilience are confirmed.
Earnings outlook Estimate company-stated · verified
| Type | Period | Revenue | Operating profit | Net profit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Next quarter | Q2 2026 | approx. ₩4.4 billion | — | — |
Price history Close · MA20 · MA60
The latest close is ₩45,000 and the market capitalization is ₩324.9 billion. The price sits above its 20-day moving average (₩40,168) and below its 60-day moving average (₩46,628). 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 57.5, a neutral level. The one-month change is +5.9%, the three-month change is -25.0%, and the position relative to the 52-week high is -52.1%. Relative strength versus the KOSDAQ is 87 (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 88% of all stocks. Over the past three months it outpaced the index by 9.4%. 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 +9.45% / 6M -30.65% / 12M +138.56%
Key metrics Computed vs sector median
Valuation
A net loss makes the P/E an unreliable valuation gauge. The P/B of 224.10x is above the sector median (3.91x).
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
The operating margin is -120.1%. The debt ratio is 3524.0%, so the financial structure is somewhat high.
Growth FY2025 · annual report (consolidated)
| Item | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $3.8M | $10.6M | $9.1M | -13.86% ↓ slower |
| Operating profit | -$8.3M | -$5.4M | -$10.9M | — |
| Net profit | $0 | -$5.4M | -$16.7M | — |
| 5-year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $1.3M | $2.6M | $3.8M | $10.6M | $9.1M |
| Operating profit | -$7.7M | -$9.3M | -$8.3M | -$5.4M | -$10.9M |
| Net profit | -$7.7M | -$9.1M | $0 | -$5.4M | -$16.7M |
| Revenue CAGR | 4-yr avg 62.59% | ||||
Revenue fell 13.9% year over year (2023 ₩5.3 billion → 2024 ₩15.1 billion → 2025 ₩13.0 billion), and the three-year trend is 'mixed'. The rate of decline widened from the prior year. Operating results are in the red, so a swing back to profit matters more than the growth rate here. Over the 5 years on record, revenue compound annual growth (CAGR) is 62.6%. The two-year revenue CAGR is 55.8%. In the most recent quarter (Q1 2026), revenue was 40.8% higher than the same period a year earlier.
Latest quarterly results Source Q1 2026 · vs year-ago
Technical indicators Computed
What stands out
- —
Points to watch
- Debt far exceeds equity (debt ratio 3524.0%).
- Assets that can be turned to cash within a year fall short of near-term liabilities (current ratio 48.4%).
- The most recent full year was a loss, so it is worth checking whether profitability recovers.
- Revenue fell 13.9% year over year (3-year trend: mixed).
- The price is high versus peers, so expectations already appear priced in.
Recent news & events searched · sourced
- 2026-05-14UpdateSingle-sale/supply contract signed with Japanese subsidiary (HEM Pharma Japan) for gut-microbiome analysis (about ₩2.08 billion, 16.06% of recent revenue, contract term to 2027-05-13)In the short term, a sign that the Japan business expansion is becoming visible. However, as a transaction with an affiliated subsidiary, it may be offset as an intercompany transaction on a consolidated basis, so the portion actually recognized as external revenue and the timing of collection must be checked together. Source
- 2026-05-11UpdateQuarterly report (2026.03) filed — Q1 2026 revenue ₩4.9 billion (up 40.8% year on year), quarterly operating result still in lossA top-line recovery signal and a continued loss are confirmed at the same time. Whether the revenue increase leads to profit improvement from the next quarter onward is the medium-term watch point. Source
- 2026-03-27Update[Correction] Material-fact report (company-split decision) — the split agenda failed to pass the annual general meeting, so the split plan was withdrawnThe business-structure change that had been pursued is on hold for now. It means the consolidated-results and financial-comparison basis holds for the time being, and whether it is pursued again remains a variable. Source
- 2026-05-22IRInvestor briefing (IR) held — the company explains business progress directlyAn opportunity to check the business and earnings flow through the company's official channel. The explanation of the Japan expansion and the loss-reduction path can be examined. Source
Figure cross-check computed ↔ external
| Metric | Computed | External | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single-sale/supply contract amount and counterparty | approx. ₩2.1 billion | ₩2,084,434,000 · HEM Pharma Japan Inc. | Confirmed | link |
| Actual content of the company-split decision | — | — | Confirmed | link |
| FY2025 annual results (consolidated) | revenue ₩13.0 billion · ₩15.6 billion · ₩23.8 billion | revenue ₩12,979,352,490 · ₩15,583,461,635 · ₩23,842,029,329 | Confirmed | link |
| 2026 annual revenue approximation (seasonality) | approx. ₩21.8 billion | — | Unverified | link |
Recent filings Source
- 2026-05-22Disclosure
- 2026-05-14Single supply/sales contract
- 2026-05-11PeriodicQuarterly report
- 2026-05-08Disclosure
- 2026-04-06OwnershipOfficers'/major-shareholders' holdings report
- 2026-04-06OwnershipOwnership-change filing
- 2026-03-27Disclosure
- 2026-03-27Material-fact report (amended)
- 2026-03-26Shareholders' meeting notice
- 2026-03-25Disclosure
- 2026-03-18PeriodicAnnual business report
- 2026-03-18Audit 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.