JW Pharmaceutical, which has been hitting new highs in share prices for 52 consecutive weeks, met the market’s expectations by posting a record performance in the second quarter.

On Wednesday, JW Pharm released preliminary operating results for the second quarter in a public filing.

On a standalone basis, the company posted sales of 183.5 billion won ($138.6 million) and an operating profit of 22.7 billion won. They marked a 12.6 percent and 120.3 percent increase from last year, respectively. Net income was 16.9 billion won, up a hefty 736 percent year-on-year.

The revenue and operating profit broke records for the second three months.

For the first half, sales, operating profit, and net profit totaled 354.9 billion won, 44.2 billion won, and 33.7 billion won, up 11.9 percent, 81 percent, and 165 percent year-on-year.

JW Pharm attributed its strong performance to the growth in sales of original products. The company said that its ETC and OTC business divisions continued to grow in the second quarter of the year, with sales increasing from the first quarter.

According to the company, sales of ethical drugs in the second quarter reached 143.9 billion won, an increase of 11.3 percent from 129.3 billion won a year earlier.

More specifically, the sales of Livalozet (rosuvastatin+ezetimibe), the first new drug for dyslipidemia based on pitavastatin, grew 146.4 percent year-on-year to 17 billion won.

Sales of the Livalo-line products (Livalo, Livalozet, and Livalo V), led by statin-single agent Livalo, increased 40.2 percent to 37.3 billion won.

Besides, the sales of enteral nutrition fluid Ncover increased by 32.3 percent to 8.2 billion won, and the high-dose iron injection 'Ferinject' grew by 5.8 percent to 5.5 billion won. In particular, sales of Hemlibra (emicizumab), a hemophilia treatment that received insurance coverage for non-antibody patients with hemophilia A in May, surged 214.3 percent to 4.4 billion won.

Revenue from fluids amounted to 46.9 billion won, up 5.6 percent from a year ago, with Winuf, a multi-nutrient fluid, driving sales growth with a 24.5 percent increase to 18.3 billion won.

OTC sales amounted to 14.6 billion won, up 8.9 percent from a year ago.

Eye care brand 'Friends' generated 4.1 billion won (up 20.6 percent), wound care bandage 'Hi Mom' generated 2.5 billion won (up 8.7 percent), and sterile saline solution Cleankle' generated 2.3 billion won (up 27.8 percent).

The business-to-business (B2B) business achieved sales of 9.6 billion won, up 7.9 percent, thanks to increased sales of Dutasteride tablets (0.5 mg) and Itraconazole’s contract manufacturing organization (CMO) business.

"We continue to see solid growth centered on our major original specialty drugs, with the Livalo product line, including Livalojet, gaining market recognition and continuing to grow strongly," a JW Pharm official said. “The outlook for the second half of the year is also bright with the addition of Hemlibra, a hemophilia treatment that is experiencing rapid sales growth due to expanded insurance coverage."

The official added that the company will strive to create innovative new drug R&D results based on stable earnings growth.

JW Pharma has received great attention in the stock market since last month. The stock price in the 20,000 won range steadily rose throughout July, closing at 42,500 won on July 31, up 77.82 percent from the first business day (23,900 won).

JW Pharm's stock price plunged 18.24 percent on Aug. 1 but now shows signs of recovery. After gaining 12.8 percent on Wednesday, the stock soared to 45,500 won on Thursday morning, hitting a new high for the 52nd consecutive week. As of noon on the same day, its stock price was up 5.52 percent, or 2,300 won, from the previous day's close to 43,950 won.

On its website, JW Pharm also revealed its ambitions to develop new drugs. The company is conducting a phase 3 clinical trial of the gout drug epaminurad in Korea and has applied for a phase 3 IND (investigational new drug application) in Taiwan and Singapore.