PRESS RELEASE
- Duopharma Biotech Berhad’s 22nd AGM reaffirms the Group’s commitment to expanding its portfolio diversity, including halal pharmaceuticals and plant-based products, and growing its product availability and affordability
- Group ended FY2022 with highest ever revenue of RM696.72 million, a 9.0% increase from RM638.18 million in FY2021
- Transformation of corporate policy focuses on holistic integration of ESG principles
KUALA LUMPUR, 31 May 2023 – Duopharma Biotech Berhad (“Duopharma Biotech” or “the Company”) held its 22nd Annual General Meeting today, highlighting the Duopharma Biotech Group’s progress in growing and transforming its business in line with market evolution. The Group had ended FY2022 with its highest ever revenue of RM696.72 million, a 9.0% increase from RM638.18 million in FY2021. In the same period, profit before tax (“PBT”) saw an increase of 2.25% to RM84.85 million from RM82.98 million the previous year. The Group’s total revenue comprised 94% from local sales with the segment also accounting for 94.9% of total gross profits.
Duopharma Biotech’s performance was boosted by higher sales generated from prescription pharmaceuticals under the Ethical Classic Business and the public health sector. The Company won a three-year contract worth RM375 million to supply Insugen to the Ministry of Health’s facilities from 29 April 2022 – 28 April 2025.
In FY2022, the Group’s earnings per share rose by 4.4% year-on-year from 7.08 sen to 7.39 sen. The Board of Directors declared a total dividend of 2.3 sen per share for the year (equivalent to RM21.90 million) comprising two interim dividends of 0.5 sen per share (RM4.76 million) and 1.8 sen per share (RM17.14 million) respectively. The Board also resolved to apply the Dividend Reinvestment Plan (“DRP”) to the second interim dividend, with the new ordinary shares issued priced at RM1.35 each.
Subsequently, the Group started 2023 on a promising note with significant revenue growth in Q1FY2023. In the quarter ended 31 March 2023, Duopharma Biotech reported earnings of RM200.48 million, a 7.82% increase from the corresponding period last year. In the same period, the Company recorded an increase of 6.18% PBT (RM28.29 million) with earnings per share of 2.38 sen in Q1FY2023.
Duopharma Biotech Group Chairman Tan Sri Datin Paduka Siti Sa’diah Binti Sh Bakir commented: “In 2022, Duopharma Biotech continued to create value by offering access to effective and affordable treatments for all consumers. We are also continuing our efforts to meet targeted needs among patients and consumers, such as halal pharmaceuticals and plant-based products. Our milestones continue to be a source of pride, such as receiving the world’s first halal certification for a cancer drug awarded by the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (“JAKIM”). At the same time, keeping abreast of global industry standards, we are committed to integrating ESG principles into our business operations and corporate policies – and we are heartened by industry recognition for our efforts.”
Duopharma Biotech Group Managing Director Leonard Ariff Abdul Shatar added: “In Duopharma Biotech’s business outlook, we are extremely encouraged by the healthcare reforms direction taken in the revised Budget 2023, which includes a record 12.0% increase from Budget 2022 in healthcare allocation amounting to RM36.3 billion – for the purchase of pharmaceutical products and medical consumables, and to expand accessibility to healthcare services among lower income residents. We are also doing our part to support the Government’s goals by making our products available and affordable to everyone, while continuously expanding our portfolio of products to serve more diverse patient and consumer needs. This includes pursuing collaborations to expand offerings in preventive medicine and early detection.”
A year of milestones
In 2022, Duopharma Biotech became the first pharmaceutical company to receive halal certification for an oncology product from JAKIM, which was manufactured at its Highly Potent Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (“HAPI”) facility located in Glenmarie, Shah Alam. This adds to the Company’s halal credentials, where all its manufactured products are 100% halal.
Catering to the halal consumer market, Duopharma Biotech has partnered with South Korean company SCM Lifescience, Inc. (“SCM Lifescience”) to distribute its range of Iroro halal-certified hair growth products – developed using stem cell technology, in Malaysia. Meanwhile, the Company has also collaborated with US-based The Live Green Co to develop a range of Consumer Healthcare (“CHC”) products that do not contain any animal, synthetic or ultraprocessed ingredients, catering to demand for more sustainable wellness foods and pharmaceuticals.
Duopharma Biotech is also continuing to expand regionally, most recently through the establishment of a wholly-owned subsidiary PT Duopharma Healthcare Indonesia (“PT DHI”) in the Republic of Indonesia in April 2023.
Strengthening corporate policy
On the corporate policy front, Duopharma Biotech strengthened its ESG credentials with a number of initiatives and achievements, happening in tandem with the introduction of the Company’s new Corporate Culture focusing on performance, sustainability, innovation and global mindset.
Duopharma Biotech was recognised with the Gold Award in the Integrity, Governance and Anti-Corruption Awards (AIGA) 2022 by the Malaysian Institute of Integrity, received the BEIM Five Petals Gold Ethics Award for the second consecutive term from the Business Ethics Institute of Malaysia (BEIM), and recorded a clean sheet in its first term holding the ISO 37001 Anti-Bribery Management Systems (ABMS) certification with Zero Non-Conformance Report and no Opportunities For Improvements in the ISO 37001 ABMS Surveillance Audit 2022.
As a participatory member of the United Nations Global Compact Network Malaysia & Brunei (“UNGCMYB”), Duopharma Biotech has pledged to become carbon neutral by 2030 and a net zero carbon organisation by 2050, as well as replace 50% of single use plastics with biodegradable plastics within its operations by 2026. The Company also received the ‘Sustainability Awareness and Employee Engagement Recognition’ award at the UNGCMYB Sustainability Performance Awards 2022.