Celltrion announces additional buyback and retirement of its shares

Celltrion announced its decision to further buy back and retire its own shares as part of its ongoing efforts to stabilize its stock price and enhance shareholder value.

The company stated that it would purchase approximately 436,047 shares for a total acquisition cost of about 75 billion won ($54.1 million), matching the amount spent on an additional buyback in March.

In a parallel move, Celltrion also revealed plans to retire 1,119,924 shares, equivalent to 10 percent of its total holdings, amounting to an estimated 200 billion won.

This latest share retirement follows a substantial share retirement where the company destroyed 20.6 percent of its then-held shares valued at 400 billion won in January.

With the current cancellation, Celltrion will have burned approximately 30 percent of its shares that it owns this year alone, totaling 600 billion won.

The company stressed that the reduction in shares will decrease the total number of issued shares to 216,992,838.

This strategic financial maneuvering coincides with the anticipated successful market entry of Celltrion's new drug, Zymfentra, which has been listed by one out of the top three pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) in the U.S. and the expected approvals of its subsequent biosimilar products in other key international markets.

The three largest PBMs in the U.S. include CVS Health, Express Scripts, and Optum, and the three collectively manage about 80 percent of the market.

"This year is expected to mark a new golden era for Celltrion, as Zymfentra is expected to establish itself in the U.S. market and as subsequent biosimilars receive approvals around the globe,” a company official said. “Along with our business achievements, we will continue to focus on shareholder returns to promote shared growth."