GC Pharma, formerly known as Green Cross, said Monday its sales hit a record high of 1.28 trillion won ($1.1 billion) last year, a 7.5 percent increase from 2016.

“We achieved record earning thanks to the strong sale of our flagship merchandises such as blood products and vaccines businesses," a company official said.

GC Pharma registered 90.3 billion won in operating profit last year, a 15.1 percent increase from 2016. However, the company’s net profit decreased to 62.3 billion won, down 13 percent from the previous year.

By division, blood products sales grew 7 percent year-on-year due to robust exports and domestic demand, while vaccine sales increased 12 percent.

Operating profits increased more than sales thanks to high demand from domestic and overseas business, efficient sales, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses. The company’s SG&A expenses ratio was 21.5 percent, down from 22.8 percent a year earlier.

In the fourth quarter of last year, GC Pharma’s sales increased slightly from the same period of the previous year to 326.3 billion won. The company explained that one-off costs such as product disposal provisions and inventory restructuring at subsidiaries were the main factors that slowed profitability in the fourth quarter.

“This year, the company plans to reinforce our corporate strength through efficient management of the entire company and to invest in future for the foundation of sustainable growth boldly,” the official said.