KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 23): Pharmaniaga Bhd (KL:PHARMA), which is looking to shed its Practice Note 17 status, has more than tripled its net profit for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2025 on lower costs and taxes, marking its eighth consecutive quarter of profits. 

The group posted a net profit of RM7.7 million for the quarter, up from RM2.3 million, as lower costs and taxes offset fewer orders from government hospitals.

Pharmaniaga also incurred higher training expenses for human capital development and increased medical costs due to mandatory health screening programmes for all employees. 

It reported a 1.3% increase in revenue to RM938.3 million from 926.4 million a year before.

For FY2025, it posted a 63% drop in net profit to RM48.5 million, compared with RM131.8 million in FY2024, which was boosted by a RM124.9 million penalty waiver.

Excluding the one-off item, the group’s profit before taxation increased by 7.9% to RM74.7 million from RM69.2 million, according to its filing with Bursa Malaysia. 

Pharmaniaga recorded an 8.1% higher revenue of RM3.93 billion in FY2025, compared with RM3.63 billion in FY2024. This growth was attributed to heightened consumer demand within the concession segment, underpinned by the inclusion of new products in the approved products purchase list.

The group also saved RM10.6 million in interest by optimising stocks and partially repaying borrowings using proceeds from the regularisation plan.

The manufacturing division reported earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) of RM88.0 million compared to RM53.4 million the prior year, driven by strong demand for in-house products. 

Meanwhile, its logistics and distribution division's ebitda fell to RM48.1 million, from RM70.4 million the year before, due to lower private sector contributions and higher logistics costs from new product awards in East Malaysia. Its Indonesia division saw growth in ebitda but lower contributions, down 4.6% from RM35.8 million the prior year, mainly due to currency fluctuations.

Looking ahead to 2026, Pharmaniaga expects growth to continue with more corporate vaccination programmes, ongoing development of PCV13 and hexavalent vaccines supported by government grants, and plans to launch six major new products to meet rising demand in the private healthcare market.

Pharmaniaga’s share price rose 1.61% to close at 31.5 sen on Monday, valuing the company at RM2.1 billion. Year to date, the stock is up 10.5%.

The company is trading at a high price-to-earnings (PE) ratio of 47.1 times and a price to net asset value of 4.8 times, both the highest among peers and compared to its recent history. The high PE is partly due to lower earnings in the trailing 12 months.