On April 17, 2023, the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (AGM) of Cuulong Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company (stock code: DCL) was successfully held. The AGM approved various reports, presentations, and notable contents including the audited financial report for 2022; the business plan targets for 2023, in addition to other matters within the jurisdiction of the AGM.

The 2023 DCL AGM was broadcasted live in Vinh Long and other locations.

Several milestones were established in 2022

According to the AGM report, 2022 was a difficult period for the business community due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The domestic economy faced significant challenges, rapid fluctuations, unpredictable changes, and high instability. Inflation reached its highest level in decades, forcing countries to tighten monetary policies.

Amidst this context, thanks to the persistence, effort, and creativity of the company’s management board and employees, DCL achieved outstanding results, surpassing the revenue threshold of 1,016 billion VND, the company’s highest revenue in 46 years of operation. Pre-tax profit reached 141.5 billion VND. With these results, DCL exceeded the revenue and profit targets for 2022 by 20% and 6% respectively; revenue grew by 44.3% and profit by 28.3% compared to the previous year.

Notably, the Capsule segment grew by more than 46% compared to 2021. This was due to the timely capture of customer demand and alignment with the growth trend of the pharmaceutical industry, replacing imported capsule products during the pandemic.

For the OTC channel, besides developing the retail market, DCL introduced its products to pharmacy chains such as Pharmacity, Long Chau, etc. In the ETC channel, DCL participated directly in bidding and won contracts of various scales at different health departments, supplying its products to almost all hospitals and health centers nationwide.

Breakthrough projects in 2023

Answering shareholders at the AGM regarding the business plan for 2023, DCL’s Board of Directors expressed confidence that despite the continued challenges in the global macroeconomic landscape and potential resurgence of the pandemic, the company would maintain growth in line with the industry and adhere to the business plan for 2023, targeting a net revenue of 1,150 billion VND, an increase of 13.2% compared to 2022, and pre-tax profit of over 160 billion VND, an increase of 13.1% compared to 2022.

To achieve these targets, DCL will focus on investing more heavily in production and business activities, optimizing production capacity, diversifying product portfolios, researching bioequivalent products, concentrating on building and promoting strategic product groups, high-revenue products with competitive advantages, improving the sales system, and building the company’s image and product brands.

DCL is currently implementing an investment project, the “EU-GMP Standard Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Factory” after being granted an investment certificate on June 30, 2022, with a total investment of 1,035 billion VND and a land use area of 50,000 m2. The factory’s pharmaceutical production capacity is expected to reach 1.6 billion products/year, with construction set to commence in Quarter 3/2023.

For the medical device manufacturing sector, in addition to the existing factory, the company has been investing in another medical device manufacturing plant with a designed capacity of 300 million products/year, creating a new line of medical equipment to meet domestic and export demands and contribute to the supply of diverse high-quality medical devices for the market.

In the field of manufacturing and supplying empty capsules, with the market’s potential for expansion and reliance on imported products, DCL is investing in the “Capsule Factory Expansion Phase 5” project with a total investment of 232.5 billion VND and a capacity of 2.8 billion capsules per year to meet the demands of all customers, expected to be operational in Q3/2023.

The two investment projects, expanding the capsule factory and constructing a new medical device manufacturing plant, are expected to increase DCL’s consolidated revenue to 1,400 billion VND and pre-tax profit to 180 billion VND in the following year after completion and operation.

In addition, DCL is also implementing the “Pharmaceutical Warehouse and GSP/GLP standard R&D Building” project with a total investment of 85 billion VND. The Pharmaceutical Warehouse aims to increase production infrastructure to support doubling pharmaceutical revenue in the next five years. The R&D Building aims to invest in expanding the infrastructure for research and product development.