On April 28, 2025 WuXi AppTec (stock code: 603259.SH / 2359.HK), a global company that provides a broad portfolio of R&D and manufacturing services that enable companies in the pharmaceutical and life sciences industry, reported financial results for the first quarter ending March 31, 2025 ("Reporting Period") (Press release, WuXi AppTec, APR 28, 2025, View Source [SID1234652273]):
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Total revenue reached RMB9.65 billion, up 21.0% year-over-year. Revenue from Continuing Operations reached RMB9.39 billion, up 23.1% year-over-year.
Adjusted non-IFRS gross profit reached RMB4.05 billion. Adjusted non-IFRS gross profit margin was 41.9%.
Net profit attributable to the owners of the Company was RMB3.67 billion, up 89.1% year-over-year; diluted EPS was RMB1.28, up 93.9% year-over-year.
Adjusted non-IFRS net profit attributable to the owners of the Company was RMB2.68 billion, up 40.0% year-over-year; adjusted non-IFRS diluted EPS was RMB0.94, up 44.6% year-over-year.
As of March 31, 2025, backlog for Continuing Operations reached RMB52.33 billion, up 47.1% year-over-year.
Operating cash flow climbed 41.8% year-over-year to RMB3.03 billion, driven by business growth, increases in operational efficiency, and continued improvement of financial management capabilities.
The Company’s sustained and steady business growth is the result of our unique, fully integrated Contract Research, Development and Manufacturing Organization (CRDMO) platform. WuXi Chemistry’s small molecule Development and Manufacturing (D&M) pipeline has maintained growth, with a total of 203 new molecules added in the first quarter of 2025. As of March 31, 2025, our small molecule D&M pipeline reached 3,393 molecules, with an increase of 5 projects in phase III and commercial stages during the first quarter of 2025.
The Company has been accelerating global D&M capacity expansion. In March 2025, both the Changzhou and Taixing API manufacturing sites successfully passed FDA inspections with no single observation. By the end of 2025, total reactor volume of small molecule APIs is expected to reach over 4,000kL, and the total reactor volume of Solid Phase Peptide Synthesizers is expected to increase to more than 100,000L.
[1] Net profit attributable to the owners of the Company is prepared in accordance with China Accounting Standards for Business Enterprises (CAS).
[2] In 2024 Q1 and 2025 Q1, WuXi AppTec had a fully-diluted weighted average share count of 2,925,052,346 and 2,899,579,930 ordinary shares, respectively.
Management Comment
Dr. Ge Li, Chairman and CEO of WuXi AppTec, said, "Revenue and profit both resumed double-digit growth during the first quarter, and our backlog for Continuing Operations sustained rapid growth, as we maintained our laser focus on leveraging WuXi AppTec’s unique CRDMO platform to expand delivery of enabling services across research, development and manufacturing."
"The Company currently maintains its full-year guidance set at the beginning of the year. We expect revenue from Continuing Operations to grow 10-15% in 2025, and our adjusted non-IFRS net profit margin will further improve."
"WuXi AppTec is dedicated to ‘doing the right thing and doing it right’, as our services drive long-term growth, improve the health of those in need and realize our vision that ‘every drug can be made and every disease can be treated’."
Business Performance by Segments
WuXi Chemistry: CRDMO Business Model Drives Continuous Growth; Q1 2025 Revenue Up 32.9% YoY, with TIDES Revenue Up 187.6% YoY
Q1 revenue of WuXi Chemistry reached RMB7.39 billion, up 32.9% year-over-year. With continued optimization of production process and improvement in capacity efficiency driven by the growth of late-stage clinical and commercial projects, Q1 adjusted non-IFRS gross profit margin steadily improved 4.2pts year-over-year to 47.5%.
Small molecule drug discovery service ("R") continues to generate downstream opportunities. In the past 12 months, we successfully synthesized and delivered more than 460,000 new compounds to customers, which resulted in 6% year-over-year growth. Through our "follow-the-customer" and "follow-the-molecule" strategies, we established trusted partnerships with our customers globally, supporting the sustainable growth of our CRDMO business. In the first quarter, 75 molecules were converted from R to D.
Small molecule D&M service remains strong.
i. The small molecule CDMO pipeline continued to expand. Q1 revenue of small molecule D&M services was up 13.8% year-over-year to RMB3.85 billion. In the first quarter of 2025, 203 new molecules were added to the small molecule D&M pipeline. As of March 31, 2025, our small molecule D&M pipeline reached 3,393 molecules, including 75 commercial projects, 82 in phase III, 368 in phase II and 2,868 in phase I and pre-clinical stages, with an increase of 5 projects in the commercial and phase III stages during the first quarter of 2025.
ii. We continued to build small molecule capacities. In March 2025, both the Changzhou and Taixing API manufacturing sites successfully passed FDA inspections with no single observation. The total reactor volume of small molecule APIs is expected to reach over 4,000kL by the end of 2025.
TIDES business (oligo and peptides) sustains rapid growth.
i. With the ramp-up of new capacities released sequentially each quarter last year, Q1 TIDES revenue grew 187.6% year-over-year to RMB2.24 billion. As of the end of March 2025, TIDES backlog was up 105.5% year-over-year.
ii. TIDES D&M customers grew 14% year-over-year, while the number of TIDES molecules grew 25% year-over-year.
iii. We continued to build peptide capacities in Taixing. Total reactor volume of Solid Phase Peptide Synthesizers is expected to increase to over 100,000L by the end of 2025.
WuXi Testing[3]: Drug Safety Evaluation Service & Site Management Organization (SMO) Maintain Leading Positions
WuXi Testing reached RMB1.29 billion during Q1. Adjusted non-IFRS gross profit margin was 23.4%. Q1 revenue of lab testing services declined 4.9% year-over-year to RMB0.88 billion, due to market impact as pricing gradually reflected in revenue along with backlog conversion, accompanied by a decline in Q1 adjusted non-IFRS GPM. Of which, drug safety evaluation services revenue was down 7.8% year-over-year, while maintaining an industry-leading position in the Asia-Pacific region.
New modality business continued to develop, while the Company maintained its leading position in areas including nucleic acids, conjugates, mRNA, multispecific antibodies and peptides.
The Company is committed to actively enabling customers’ global licensing. WuXi AppTec has supported approximately 40% of successful out-licensed deals from Chinese biotech companies since 2022.
The Suzhou facility has successfully passed 4 consecutive FDA on-site inspections.
Q1 revenue for clinical CRO & SMO declined 2.2% year-over-year to RMB0.41 billion due to market pricing impact. Of which, SMO revenue grew 5.5% year-over-year and maintained the industry leading position in China. During the quarter, our clinical CRO business supported customers to obtain 10 IND approvals.
The SMO business continued steady growth, and supported 28 new drug approvals for customers in the first quarter. Over the past decade, SMO has supported 283 new drug approvals in total, maintaining significant advantages in multiple areas (endocrinology, dermatology, lung cancer and cardiovascular disease, etc.).
[3] As disclosed in the 2025 First Quarterly Report, WuXi Testing here includes only the core business of Continuing Operations (similar to the 2024 baseline).
WuXi Biology: Continues to Generate Downstream Opportunities; In Vitro & In Vivo Business Synergies and New Modality Business Drive Growth
WuXi Biology follows the science and continuously strengthens drug discovery capabilities in emerging areas. It efficiently generates downstream opportunities for CRDMO model by continuously contributing more than 20% of the Company’s new customers.
WuXi Biology’s Q1 revenue rose 8.2% year-over-year to RMB0.61 billion. Due to market pricing impact, Q1 adjusted non-IFRS gross profit margin was down 2.2pts to 36.3%.
The Company continuously leverage synergies between in vitro and in vivo platforms, and efficiently supports customer demand for one-stop drug discovery service platform. Revenue of the in vitro integrated screening platform grew 28.9% year-over-year. Revenue of the in vivo pharmacology platform grew 9.4% year-over-year, driven by accelerated advancements in focused disease areas. The constantly improved competitive edge in non-oncology business has laid a solid foundation for sustained growth throughout the year.
New modality drug discovery services continue to perform well, contributing more than 30% of WuXi Biology’s total revenue.
This release provides a summary of the results and does not intend to provide a complete statement relating to the Company, its securities, or any relevant matters herein that a recipient may need in order to evaluate the Company. For additional information, please refer to the WuXi AppTec 2025 First Quarterly Results Presentation and 2025 First Quarterly Report disclosed on the Company’s official website, as well as the Company’s disclosure documents and information on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited website. Investors are advised to exercise caution and be aware of the investment risks in trading Company shares.
Net profit attributable to the owners of the Company is prepared in accordance with China Accounting Standards for Business Enterprises (CAS), in currency of RMB. Besides, all other financial information disclosed in this press release is prepared in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards Accounting Standards ("IFRSs"), in currency of RMB.
The 2025 First Quarterly Report of the Company has not been audited.
Results by Segments
Unit: RMB million
Segment
Revenue
Change
Adjusted
non-IFRS
Gross Profit
Change
Adjusted non-
IFRS Gross
Profit Margin
WuXi Chemistry
7,390.97
32.9 %
3,509.84
45.7 %
47.5 %
WuXi Testing
1,292.32
(4.0) %
301.90
(40.2) %
23.4 %
WuXi Biology
607.07
8.2 %
220.42
2.1 %
36.3 %
Others
99.73
(36.1) %
14.51
(17.4) %
14.6 %
Discontinued
Operations (Note 1)
264.50
(25.6) %
1.64
N/A
0.6 %
Total
9,654.60
21.0 %
4,048.32
31.0 %
41.9 %
Note 1: In accordance with the IFRSs, the Company has classified the operations for which equity sale agreements were signed during the Reporting Period or the comparison year as discontinued operations.
Note 2: Any sum of the data above that is inconsistent with the total is due to rounding.
Consolidated Statement of Profit or Loss[4] – Prepared under IFRSs
RMB Million
Quarter Ended
March 31, 2025
Quarter Ended
March 31, 2024
Revenue
9,654.6
7,981.9
Cost of sales
(5,641.5)
(4,976.2)
Gross profit
4,013.1
3,005.7
Other income
311.4
242.0
Other gains and losses
1,073.3
192.9
Impairment losses under expected credit losses ("ECL") model, net of reversal
(153.1)
(19.7)
Impairment losses of non-financial assets
(69.5)
–
Selling and marketing expenses
(194.1)
(179.1)
Administrative expenses
(597.8)
(610.5)
R&D expenses
(224.4)
(306.4)
Operating Profit
4,158.9
2,324.9
Share of results of associates
63.9
33.9
Share of results of joint ventures
0.1
0.2
Finance costs
(80.2)
(61.7)
Profit before tax
4,142.7
2,297.4
Income tax expense
(564.4)
(338.5)
Profit for the period
3,578.3
1,958.9
Profit for the period attributable to:
Owners of the Company
3,536.3
1,942.2
Non-controlling interests
42.0
16.6
3,578.3
1,958.9
Consolidated Statement of Profit or Loss (continued) – Prepared under IFRSs
Quarter Ended
March 31, 2025
Quarter Ended
March 31, 2024
Weighted average number of ordinary shares for calculating EPS
(expressed in shares)
– Basic
2,846,244,009
2,919,696,373
– Diluted
2,899,579,930
2,925,052,346
Earnings per share
(expressed in RMB per Share)
– Basic
1.24
0.67
– Diluted
1.24
0.66
[4] If the sum of the data below is inconsistent with the total, it is caused by rounding.
Consolidated Statement of Financial Position[5] – Prepared under IFRSs
RMB Million
March 31,
December 31,
2025
2024
Non-current Assets
Property, plant and equipment
25,260.3
25,267.8
Right-of-use assets
1,938.3
1,874.8
Goodwill
972.1
972.4
Other intangible assets
535.4
601.0
Interests in associates
2,106.9
2,322.2
Interests in joint ventures
3.4
3.4
Deferred tax assets
489.8
473.1
Financial assets at fair value through profit or
loss ("FVTPL")
8,707.8
8,943.4
Other non-current assets
144.8
114.7
Biological assets
1,045.2
1,063.0
Total Non-current Assets
41,204.0
41,635.7
Current Assets
Inventories
4,647.0
3,532.1
Contract costs
903.5
912.2
Biological assets
941.2
955.5
Amounts due from related parties
91.9
89.3
Trade and other receivables
9,269.2
9,643.7
Contract assets
876.2
988.8
Income tax recoverable
89.7
87.2
Financial assets at FVTPL
901.0
1,234.0
Derivative financial instruments
0.6
–
Other current assets
736.5
734.1
Pledged bank deposits
10.2
22.1
Term deposits with initial term of over three
months
4,826.1
4,865.6
Bank balances and cash
20,014.9
13,434.3
43,308.1
36,498.8
Assets classified as held for sale
–
2,191.3
Total Current Assets
43,308.1
38,690.2
Total Assets
84,512.1
80,325.8
[5] If the sum of the data below is inconsistent with the total, it is caused by rounding.
Consolidated Statement of Financial Position (continued)[6]– Prepared under IFRSs
RMB Million
March 31,
December 31,
2025
2024
Current Liabilities
Trade and other payables
6,863.6
7,025.5
Amounts due to related parties
7.5
15.3
Derivative financial instruments
63.1
202.0
Contract liabilities
2,349.8
2,251.0
Bank borrowings
4,829.4
1,278.6
Lease liabilities
211.5
224.2
Income tax payables
1,035.7
870.8
Convertible bonds
3,513.3
3,493.1
18,873.8
15,360.6
Liabilities associated with assets classified as
held for sale
–
865.5
Total Current Liabilities
18,873.8
16,226.1
Non-current Liabilities
Bank borrowings
763.3
2,959.5
Deferred tax liabilities
493.8
522.4
Deferred income
976.6
985.6
Lease liabilities
625.8
546.6
Total Non-current Liabilities
2,859.5
5,014.1
Total Liabilities
21,733.3
21,240.2
Net Assets
62,778.8
59,085.6
Capital and Reserves
Share capital
2,888.0
2,888.0
Reserves
59,444.4
55,744.7
Equity attributable to owners of the Company
62,332.4
58,632.7
Non-controlling interests
446.4
452.9
Total Equity
62,778.8
59,085.6
[6] If the sum of the data below is inconsistent with the total, it is caused by rounding.
Adjusted Non-IFRS Net Profit Attributable to the Owners of the Company[7]
RMB Million
Quarter Ended
March 31,
Quarter Ended
March 31,
2025
2024
Net profit attributable to the owners of the Company under CAS
3,672.0
1,942.2
GAAP difference[8]
(135.7)
–
Net profit attributable to the owners of the Company under IFRSs
3,536.3
1,942.2
Add:
Share-based compensation expenses
34.4
87.8
Issuance expenses of convertible bonds
9.8
–
Foreign exchange related losses
178.0
14.4
Amortization of acquired intangible assets from merger and acquisition
7.1
13.6
Losses from impairment and disposal of non-financial assets
65.0
–
Gains from divestiture and restructuring initiatives
(56.4)
–
Non-IFRS net profit attributable to the owners of the Company
3,774.1
2,058.0
Add:
Realized and unrealized gains from venture capital investments
(1,096.3)
(144.7)
Realized and unrealized share of gains from joint ventures
(0.1)
(0.2)
Adjusted non-IFRS net profit attributable to the owners of the Company
2,677.7
1,913.1