China Biologic Products, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: CBPO) ("China Biologic" or the "Company"), a biopharmaceutical company which is one of the leading plasma-based pharmaceutical companies in China, has reported a net income of $11.98m, or $0.56 per diluted share, for 2008, an increase of 46.5%, compared to $8.18m, or $0.37 per diluted share, for 2007.
Commencing January of 2008, the SFDA implemented stricter pharmaceutical GMP inspection standards designed to intensify supervision of drug producers and ensure drug quality. The new inspection standards include 259 articles, up from 225 articles in the previous standards, covering areas such as the sourcing of raw materials, manufacturing processes, self-inspection processes at each stage of production and transportation.
The plasma-based industry has been immune from the impact of the ongoing global financial crisis as the demand for the products has out-paced supply. As a result, the Company's selling price, cost of revenue and operating expenses during 2008 were not impacted by the global financial turmoil.
Currently, China Biologic is the only approved manufacturer of plasma-based biopharmaceuticals in Shandong Province, which has a population of 93 million. China Biologic currently produces about 200 tons of plasma-based products per year and has 700 tons of annual production capacity. The Company is pursuing an aggressive acquisition strategy aimed at becoming the largest non-state-owned producer of plasma-based products in China.
Revenue for the full year 2008 increased 44.3% to $46.75m from $32.4m in 2007. The increase in revenues for 2008 is primarily attributable to a general increase in the price of plasma-based products which was partially offset by the sales volume decrease except for human immunoglobulin, and the foreign exchange translation, which accounted for 12.5% of the increase.
Chao Ming Zhao, CEO of China Biologic Products, said: "We are pleased to report strong revenue and net income results for 2008. We believe that our significant operating leverage demonstrates the success of the marketing strategies that we implemented in 2008. More recently, we were pleased to announce that our subsidiary, Shandong Taibang Biological Products, has completed the government approval process for the transfer of 35% equity interest in Xi'an Huitian Blood Products.
"We expect to close the Huitian acquisition, as well as the previously announced Qianfeng acquisition, in the near term. We expect that both of these acquisitions combined will transform China Biologic into the largest privately held plasma-based biopharmaceutical company in China."
