Sinopharm's net profit slides over 22pc to 7.05b yuan

Shares of Sinopharm (1099) declined by more than 4 percent after the company announced that its 2024 net profit slid by more than 22 percent from a year prior.

The company said it recorded a 7.05 billion yuan (HK$7.56 billion) net profit amid industry challenges of service transformation, demand structure adjustment and profit pressure.

It declared a final dividend of 0.68 yuan, down 21.8 percent year-on-year.

Operating revenue fell 2 percent year-on-year to 584.5 billion yuan, dragged down by declined revenues in medical device distribution and other business.

Its medical device distribution segment's turnover dropped by 9.4 percent to 117.92 billion yuan from a year prior, mainly due to decreased sales revenue from its medical devices categories with higher gross profit under terminal demand changes.

Revenue from its pharmaceutical distribution segment climbed 0.8 percent to 444.36 billion yuan, thanks to increased distribution scale and a higher acquisition rate of the varieties in volume-based procurement.

Sinopharm said it will actively explore the application and practice of artificial intelligence technology in supply chain management, intelligent logistics and terminal services.

STAFF REPORTER