KUALA LUMPUR: Duopharma Biotech Bhd’s net profit fell almost 3% to RM15.71mil in the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2021 (4Q21) against RM16.19mil a year ago.

       Revenue, however, rose 8.5% to RM145.44mil compared with RM134.08mil achieved a year prior.

       Duopharma said its revenue declined about 15.3% in 4Q21 against RM171.84mil in the preceding quarter mainly due to lower demand from the private ethical sector and public health sector as sales gradually tapered off in the final quarter of the calendar year.

       Its pre-tax profit decreased by 23.82% to RM17.13mil in 4Q21 as compared to RM22.48mil in the preceding financial quarter, mainly due to lower sales and higher expenditures in the current quarter.

       For the full financial year ended Dec 31, 2021 (FY21), Duopharma posted a net profit of RM65.68mil, up 12% from RM58.61mil in 2020, while revenue climbed to RM639.17mil against RM569.9mil a year ago.

       “The group's revenue has improved as compared to last year's corresponding period mainly due to higher sales to the consumer healthcare and public health sector during the period.

       “Higher sales throughout FY21 has led to enhanced pretax profit as compared to prior year's corresponding period,” Duopharma said in the notes accompanying its financial statement.

       Duopharma’s board of directors declared a second interim dividend of 1.8 sen equivalent to RM 16.95mil for FY21.

       In a statement, Duopharma group managing director Leonard Ariff Abdul Shatar said several developments would bolster its earnings in the upcoming quarters.

       This includes a RM375mil tender accepted by the Government for the supply of Insugen-Insulin Recombinant Human Formulations to the Ministry of Health, Malaysia for three years through December 2024.

       In addition, the contract to supply pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical products to government hospitals and clinics has been extended for 12 months until end-2022.

       The company may also enjoy potential savings of more than RM10mil upon the completion of some qualifying assets by 2024, following the Budget 2022 announcement and the gazette of the Finance Act 2021 that the period for additional reinvestment allowance will be extended to the year of assessment 2024, Duopharma said.

       “Despite the operational and cost challenges, we are confident of the company’s long-term prospects as we believe the demand for healthcare and pharmaceutical products will continue to grow. This is evident in the Government’s increased allocation for the healthcare sector in Budget 2022,” Leonard said.