Celltrion (068270.KS) Chairman Seo Jung-jin has taken his management to overseas sales operations, reviewing the company's global sales performance firsthand. On that basis, Celltrion aims to accelerate its earnings improvement and post more than 600 billion won ($419 million) in operating profit in the fourth quarter.
Celltrion said on its website on the 19th that Seo presided over a meeting in Uzbekistan early this month attended by about 80 people, including officials from local subsidiaries in major markets worldwide and sales executives from headquarters. The meeting was held in Uzbekistan as an intermediate hub for the various regions. The aim was to minimize travel time for senior management and sales chiefs and to respond quickly to conditions on the ground.
Celltrion met all of the quarterly operating profit targets it set at the start of the year — 300 billion won in the first quarter, 400 billion won in the second and 500 billion won in the third — and now aims to earn more than 600 billion won in the fourth quarter. "The chairman personally reviewed sales performance and the earnings outlook at the meeting," Celltrion said. "We judge that there will be no significant difficulty in meeting the fourth-quarter operating profit target, despite external variables such as the decline in the exchange rate." Seo plans to visit major markets around the world in person from the middle of this month to inspect operations and encourage sales activity.
The company also plans to continue its shareholder return policy on the back of stable cash flow. "Based on the basic principle of returning one-third of net profit to shareholders through cash dividends or the cancellation of treasury shares, we will gather shareholder views fully and prepare the most reasonable plan," Celltrion said. The company's cumulative net profit on a consolidated basis for the first half of this year was 721.2 billion won, which would imply shareholder returns of about 240.4 billion won. Late last month, its board decided to buy back an additional 100 billion won worth of treasury shares, raising the total value of share buybacks approved this year to 400 billion won. Celltrion plans to gather shareholder views at its annual general meeting in March next year and then decide whether to cancel the repurchased shares and how to expand cash dividends, taking into account the effect on shareholder returns and market conditions.