(Health Korea News / Changyong Lee) “We will achieve sales of 2.3267 trillion won and an operating profit ratio of 13.7% in 2028. To this end, we will invest a total of KRW 815 billion (KRW 568 billion in M&A, KRW 200 billion in R&D, KRW 42 billion in manufacturing facilities, and KRW 5 billion in IT infrastructure).”
Lim Jong-hoon, CEO of Hanmi Science, the holding company of Hanmi Pharmaceuticals, made this announcement at a press conference titled ‘Announcing Hanmi Group’s mid- to long-term growth strategy’ at the Glad Yeouido Hotel in Yeouido, Seoul at 2 p.m. on the 7th. This was previously announced through a public announcement on the 6th.
The growth strategy presented by CEO Lim on this day was ▲ expansion of priority therapeutics (TA) through mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and co-promotion ▲ improvement of global innovative new drug research and development (R&D) capabilities ▲ diversification of healthcare value chain business ▲ fine chemicals, It can be summarized as: expansion of raw material contract manufacturing (CMO) and contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) business ▲ online farm, diversification of product assortment and strengthening of logistics capabilities ▲ subsidiary JVM pioneering new markets such as Europe and North America.
Through this, the goal is to increase sales of 2.3267 trillion won by 2028. The target operating profit margin is 13.7%.
To this end, Hanmi Science explained that it will invest a total of 815 billion won, including 568 billion won in M&A, 200 billion won in R&D, 42 billion won in manufacturing facilities, and 5 billion won in information technology (IT) infrastructure.
Looking at the investment specifically, it includes ▲expansion of the medical device business ▲expansion of new domestic TAs ▲enhancement of global new drug R&D capabilities ▲expansion of Beijing Hanmi TA ▲expansion of the raw material CDMO business ▲strengthening of online farm logistics capabilities ▲expansion of overseas market sales.
A vision for shareholder-friendly policies was also presented. CEO Lim Jong-hoon said, “From this year to 2028, we will expand the average annual shareholder return rate to 25% and increase the average annual cash dividend to 20%,” adding, “By 2028, we will sequentially purchase treasury stocks at an annual average of 0.5% of the total number of issued stocks. “I will burn it,” he said.
A plan for shareholder return and resource management was also presented. The framework is to manage Hanmi Science’s capital ratio at 54% by 2028 and maintain return on equity (ROE) at 30%.
“Hanmi Science’s management rights will not be taken away.”
CEO Jong-Hoon Lim: “Your trust in me will become even stronger.”
CEO Lim Jong-hoon also revealed his position on the management rights dispute between family members that has recently been taking place at Hanmi Pharmaceutical Group through his opening remarks at the press conference. (See related article below)
CEO Lim Jong-hoon said, “Regardless of the outcome (of the management dispute), (Hanmi Group’s) management system centered on me will continue until 2027. He said, “We will establish new leadership by reorganizing the board of directors (at the extraordinary shareholders’ meeting to be held on the 28th of this month),” and added, “Hanmi Group’s management rights are not controlled by third parties or other forces.” It has made it clear that it will not lose management rights to the Hanmi Group.
He said, “This means that the current system will continue centered around me, who is currently trusted by the Board of Directors,” and “The Board of Directors will be replaced over the course of 25 or 26 years.” The board’s confidence in me will become even stronger. He expressed confidence, saying, “We plan to increase group profits to 1 trillion won during this period.”
He emphasized, “Based on the support of the board of directors, I will build a more stable business environment than now and create a global Hanmi Group that can earn the trust of shareholders and the board of directors with the motto of responsible management.”
CEO Lim also criticized the group’s foundation. Representative Lim said, “Gayeon Cultural Foundation and Lim Seong-gi Foundation must exercise fair and neutral voting rights. Since both foundations are operated with donations from affiliates within the group, it makes no sense to take sides. “If so, we will ensure that the foundation is used in accordance with its original purpose and purpose.”
In particular, CEO Lim said, “In addition to resolving the current dispute, third-party intervention must be stopped for the future of the Hanmi Group.” He added, “If non-experts interfere with management in a desperately competitive environment, valuable talents will become exhausted and leave. “In this situation, if you split sides and act as a stooge and take personal advantage, you will have to leave the company,” he said. This is interpreted as a remark aimed at Hanyang Precision Chairman Shin Dong-guk and Hanmi Pharmaceutical CEO Park Jae-hyun, who form a three-party alliance with Chairman Song Young-sook and Vice Chairman Lim Joo-hyun.
“Press conference to appease minority shareholders’ votes”
For reference, the dispute over Hanmi Pharmaceutical’s management rights began last January when the mother and daughter of Hanmi Pharmaceutical Group Chairman Song Young-sook and Hanmi Science Vice Chairman Lim Joo-hyun announced a merger with OCI Group to resolve inheritance tax issues. Brothers Lim Jong-yoon and Jong-hoon, sons of Chairman Song Young-sook, opposed this and won the share battle at Hanmi Science’s regular shareholders’ meeting on March 28, garnering support from minority shareholders and Hanyang Precision Chairman Shin Dong-guk.
However, the brothers’ position is being shaken again. Hanyang Precision Chairman Shin Dong-guk, who acted as a casting vote by supporting the brothers at the regular shareholders’ meeting, formed a ‘three-party alliance’ last July and took the mother and daughter’s side. At this time, Chairman Shin secured a significant amount of shares from the mother and daughter sides. It is said that Chairman Shin’s side made this decision because, even three months after the brothers took over management of the group, they were unable to come up with a clear solution to the immediate tasks such as inheritance tax issues and additional financing for growth.
To make matters worse, even the Korea-US Science Minority Shareholders Alliance declared support for the tripartite alliance on the 1st of this month, and the votes of minority shareholders who had supported the brothers appear to be wavering.
Therefore, there is an analysis that the press conference held today is part of a measure to persuade minority shareholders who are wavering ahead of the extraordinary shareholders’ meeting.
The reason minority shareholders’ votes are important is because neither party currently has a stable majority stake. Accordingly, the votes of minority shareholders are expected to determine the direction of the extraordinary general meeting. According to the Financial Supervisory Service’s Electronic Disclosure System, the current shareholding structure of Hanmi Science is that the tripartite alliance holds 48.13% and the brothers hold 29.07%. Therefore, it is difficult for either the three-party alliance or the brothers to guarantee victory without winning the votes of minority shareholders.
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