| By Cindy Wu, Asia Manufacturing Pharma |
| Tuesday, 13 October 2009 |
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North China Pharmaceutical, a Shijiazhuang, Hebei province-based
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pharmaceutical maker engaged in the manufacturing of antibiotic APIs, preparations, VB12 and medical glass products, announced recently that the company’s proposed new cephalosporin project has received approval from its Board of Directors. With a total investment estimated at 990 million yuan (approximately US$145 million), the 200,000-square meter project will comprise preparation and API production facilities, which is expected to further expand North China Pharmaceutical’s cephalosporin product lineup. Upon completion, the project is forecast to contribute annual sales of 6.5 billion yuan (approximately US$952 million).
North China Pharmaceutical, listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, is |
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currently one of the major antibiotic manufacturers in China, with production of antibiotic APIs accounting for approximately 15 per cent of the country’s total.
The company also has a capacity of 2.2 billion powder injections a year, ranked the first in the country. In addition, the company is China’s largest and the world’s second largest penicillin maker, with annual sales of penicillin industrial salt estimated at 7,000 metric tons.
In the first half of this year, North China Pharmaceutical posted revenue of 2.1 billion yuan (approximately US$308 million), down 8.5 per cent from a year earlier. Profit from its primary operations tumbled by 15.1 per cent from the previous year, to 650 million yuan (approximately US$95 million).
The drop was mainly attributable to the year-on-year declines in
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profitability of the company’s core products including penicillin and cephalosporin, as a result of the slump in prices for penicillin industrial salt at the beginning of 2009.
Nevertheless, due to the reduced production, decreased inventory and increased demand, prices for penicillin industrial salt have risen to 75 yuan per BOU (approximately US$11 per BOU). The price increase is expected to boost North China Pharmaceutical’s performance in the second half.
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