On April 20, Changchun High-tech Industry (Group) Co., Ltd. (Changchun High-tech) announced that in 2024, the company achieved a net profit attributable to shareholders of 2.583 billion yuan, a decrease of 43.01% compared to the previous year. However, their sales force increased by more than 1800 people.
The annual report released by Changchun High-tech, a leading Chinese growth hormone company, for 2024 showed that the company’s operating income was 13.466 billion yuan, a decrease of 7.55% year-on-year, and the net profit attributable to shareholders was 2.583 billion yuan, a decrease of 43.01% year-on-year.
According to the first-quarter report of 2025 released on the same day, the company achieved a revenue of 2.997 billion yuan, a decrease of 5.66% year-on-year, and a net profit attributable to shareholders of 473 million yuan, a decrease of 44.95% year-on-year. The company’s operating conditions have not shown signs of improvement.
In the first-quarter report, the company attributed the decline in performance to the increase in sales-related expenses and research and development investments.
A report by “Daily Economic News” on April 20 stated that Changchun High-tech’s business is mainly divided into four major sectors: genetic engineering pharmaceuticals, biological vaccines, traditional Chinese medicine, and real estate, corresponding to its four subsidiaries – Jinsai Pharmaceutical, Biok, Huakang Pharmaceutical, and High-tech Real Estate. In 2024, the performance of three of Changchun High-tech’s subsidiaries declined year-on-year. 2024 also became the first year in nearly 20 years that Changchun High-tech’s annual operating income saw a year-on-year decline.
Among them, Jinsai Pharmaceutical, the business producing growth hormones, saw a total revenue decrease of 3.73% to 10.671 billion yuan, with a net profit attributable to shareholders of 2.678 billion yuan, a decrease of 40.67% year-on-year. This indicates that Changchun High-tech’s core business in the domestic market is on a downward trend. Biok, which produces influenza vaccines, varicella vaccines, and herpes zoster vaccines, achieved a revenue of 1.229 billion yuan in 2024, a decrease of 32.64% year-on-year, and a net profit of 232 million yuan, a decrease of 53.67% year-on-year. High-tech Real Estate achieved a revenue of 756 million yuan, a decrease of 17.32% year-on-year, and a net profit of 15 million yuan, a decrease of 80.09% year-on-year.
Although another subsidiary, Huakang Pharmaceutical, saw an increase in performance, its contribution to Changchun High-tech’s total revenue was only in single digits, making it difficult to reverse the overall performance trend.
To cope with the decline, Changchun High-tech has continued to increase its investment in research and development and sales. Research and development investment increased by 11.20% to 2.69 billion yuan, but the number of research and development personnel decreased from 1329 to 1264, a 4.89% decrease year-on-year. Sales expenses increased by 11.81% to 4.439 billion yuan, and the number of sales personnel increased from 3155 in 2023 to 4995, an increase of nearly 60% year-on-year.
The report indicates that these investments have not yet translated into sufficient revenue growth, further squeezing the company’s profits.
As of 10:36:00 Beijing time on April 21, Changchun High-tech’s stock price was 84.67 yuan per share, down 7.92%, with a total market value of 34.54 billion yuan.