Following the release of Hyphens Pharma’s FY2024 ended Dec 31, 2024 results, SAC Capital analysts Daniel Ng and Matthias Chan are keeping their “buy” call on the pharmaceutical company at a raised target price (TP) of 46 cents from 38 cents previously.
The analysts’ upward revision is primarily driven by higher price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) multiples of comparable companies, reflecting stronger market confidence in the sector.
“Results came in within our expectations. Revenue and net profit were 4.2% and 6.9% higher than our forecast, respectively,” write Ng and Chan in their Mar 10 report.
Revenue in the period grew 14.6% y-o-y to $195.4 million, while gross profit increased 12.3% y-o-y to $69.5 million. Gross profit margin however fell marginally from 36.3% in FY2023 to 35.6% in FY2024 from the increase in cost from suppliers.
All in all, net profit increased by 26.5% y-o-y to $10.9 million.
With the reported results, Hyphens has declared a final dividend of 1.50 cents per share for FY2024, reflecting a payout of 45.4%.
In FY2024, Hyphens Pharma grew its proprietary brands segment to $27.6 million with the expansion of its Ocean Health brand into Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam. The group also secured exclusive licensing agreements for Wynzora cream and Amenalief in the Asean region, leading to the strongest performance by segment, a 21.6% y-o-y growth to $124.2 million in the specialty pharma segment.
The group’s medical aesthetics segment also gained traction with the launch of Plinest in Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand, and with NCTF in Singapore and Malaysia.
Hyphens Pharma’s medical hypermart and digital segment also posted 2.1% y-o-y growth to $43.6 million, driven by increasing adoption of DocMed’s prescription-only-medicine (POM) platform and WellAway e-pharmacy, which surpassed 100,000 e-prescriptions.
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Ng and Chan add: “Additionally, the Ardence Pharma acquisition contributed $7.2 million to revenue, validating Hyphens’ inorganic growth strategy.”
Overall, the analysts note the group’s strategy of expansion via increasing market presence and securing new licensing deals.
They write: “The Specialty Pharma segment, already accounting for 63.6% of total revenue, is expected to sustain its strong trajectory through new licensing deals and medical aesthetics expansion.”
“While supply chain disruptions and foreign exchange (forex) exchange volatility pose risks, management remains focused on optimising gross margins and improving operating efficiencies to sustain profitability growth,” continue Ng and Chan.
As at 2.07 pm, shares in Hyphens Pharma are trading 0.5 cents higher or 1.79% up at 28.5 cents.
