Seegene's losses continue amid market challenges

Seegene, a Korean molecular diagnostics company, has recorded two consecutive years of operating loss, despite seeing a rise in non-Covid product sales since the Covid-19 pandemic.

Seegene announced that its operating loss stood at 16.5 billion won ($11.5 million) in 2024, following a 30.1 billion won deficit in 2023. Although revenue increased by 12.8 percent year-on-year to 414.3 billion won, the company remained unprofitable last year.

According to Seegene’s regulatory filing, the company’s fourth quarter revenue increased by 14.8 percent year-on-year and 6 percent quarter-on-quarter, reaching 115.3 billion won. However, it recorded an operating loss of 6.2 billion won in the fourth quarter due to one-time expenses related to Covid-19.

Still, Seegene’s non-Covid diagnostic reagent sales contributed significantly to its revenue, reaching 76.1 billion won in the fourth quarter.

The company reported growth in sales of respiratory and gastrointestinal diagnostic products, with respiratory bacterial product sales increasing by 200 percent and respiratory virus and gastrointestinal diagnostic products growing by 20 percent compared to the previous year.

This increase was attributed to the global spread of infectious diseases such as seasonal influenza, pneumonia, Covid-19, RSV, and norovirus.

Geographically, Seegene showed a high dependence on the European market, which accounted for 63 percent of total revenue.

Other regions, including Asia (13 percent), Korea (10 percent), Latin America (8 percent), and North America (6 percent), contributed less significantly, reflecting the company’s limited market diversification.

Despite continued losses, the company remained optimistic about its future.

"Following the Covid-19 pandemic, the company has maintained a growth trend centered on non-Covid products, with average quarterly sales reaching approximately 90 billion won in 2023 and 100 billion won in 2024, showing a stable upward trajectory." Seegene CFO Kim Jeong-yong said. "This year, we also expect continuous revenue growth, and given that the diagnostics industry is a growing sector, we will prioritize enhancing competitiveness through active investments."