(KPL/Yonhap) Samsung Biologics Co., the biotech arm of South Korea's Samsung Group, said Wednesday its second-quarter net profit jumped 72 percent from a year earlier on robust sales.

Net profit reached 318 billion won (US$229.8 million) in the April-June period, compared with 184.9 billion won a year ago, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Its operating income soared 71.4 percent on-year to 434.5 billion won in the second quarter and sales increased 33.6 percent to 1.15 trillion won.

For the first half, the company posted an operating profit of 655.8 billion won, up 47 percent on-year, and its revenue grew 33 percent to surpass the 2 trillion-won mark for the first time.

The company attributed its strong performance to the higher operation rate of its fourth production plant, driven by new contract development and manufacturing organization deals and favorable currency exchange rates.

This year, Samsung Biologics secured seven deals with global biopharmaceutical companies, including Belgium-based UCB and others.

The company also said its biosimilar medicine developing subsidiary, Samsung Bioepis Co., delivered a stellar performance in the second quarter thanks to the approval of new products, including a biosimilar to autoimmune disease treatment Stelara, in the U.S. and European markets.

Samsung Bioepis reported its operating profit shot up 514 percent on-year to 257.1 billion won, and its sales surged 107 percent to 529.9 billion won in the second quarter.

Shares in Samsung Biologics increased 4.13 percent to 883,000 won on the main Seoul bourse Wednesday, outperforming the broader Korea Composite Stock Price Index's 0.56 percent loss. The earnings results were released after the stock markets closed.

KPL