(2nd LD) SK Biopharmaceuticals-Q1 earnings

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(2nd LD) SK Biopharmaceuticals-Q1 earnings

(2nd LD) SK Biopharmaceuticals Q1 net loss narrows on robust sales

(ATTN: ADDS SK Biopharm's stock price in last para)

SEOUL, May 11 (Yonhap) -- SK Biopharmaceuticals Co., a biopharmaceutical affiliate of SK Group, said Thursday its first-quarter net loss narrowed from a year earlier thanks to robust sales of its flagship epilepsy medication.

The company said in a regulatory filing its net loss for the January-March period reached 2.4 billion won (US$1.8 million) on a consolidated basis, compared with a deficit of 35.2 billion won a year ago.

It posted an operating loss of 22.7 billion won for the quarter, narrowing from a loss of 37.1 billion won a year ago. Quarterly revenue rose 47.7 percent on-year to 60.8 billion won from 41.1 billion won.

The operating loss was 1.5 percent lower than the average estimate, according to a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency.

SK Biopharm said the on-year decline in net loss came from increased income from exports of Cenobamate, a medication used for the treatment of partial-onset seizures, a kind of epilepsy, in adults.

The drug, sold under the brand name Xcopri in the United States, earned 53.9 billion won in sales stateside for the three-month period through March, up 70 percent from a year ago.

SK Biopharm said steady overseas sales of Cenobamate will help the company swing to the black in the upcoming fourth quarter.

Shares in SK Biopharm fell 1.42 percent to close at 69,500 won, underperforming the broader KOSPI's 0.22 percent loss.

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