FAST NEWS: Covid Vaccine Boosts CanSino to Profitability

The latest: CanSino Biologics Inc. (6185.HK; 688185.SH) said late Thursday its revenue rose 7% year-on-year to about 500 million yuan ($75.5 million) in the first quarter of this year, as it turned from a loss to a profit of 121 yuan million for the period.

Looking up: The return to profitability was mainly due to the continued commercialization of products, most notably the company’s updated Covid-19 vaccine.

Take Note: The company’s net cash flow from operating activities decreased 25.9% to 159 million yuan in the first quarter, mainly due to longer periods required to collect trade receivables, increased purchasing of materials for manufacturing and increased employee benefits.

Digging Deeper: Founded in 2009 as a vaccine manufacturer, CanSino Biologics was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in March 2019 and on the Shanghai STAR Market in August 2020, becoming the first vaccine stock to be concurrently listed in both places. As of the end of last year, the company was developing 17 vaccines in 12 disease areas. Its Convidecia vaccine for Covid-19, which uses recombinant adenovirus carrier type 5 technology and has been widely used in China and around the world, helped its revenue post explosive 230-fold growth last year to 4.3 billion yuan. That helped it reverse past years of losses to record a net profit of 1.91 billion yuan for the year.

Market Reaction: The company’s Hong Kong shares opened up 2.4% on Friday morning, and closed up 3% at the midday break at HK$80.30. Even so, the shares still trade at the low end of their 52-week range.

Translation by Jony Ho

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