By Clarence Leong


Shares of BeiGene Ltd. gained Friday in Hong Kong after the China-focused biotechnology company beat expectations with a doubling of revenue in the second quarter.

BeiGene's stock closed almost 12% higher at 116.10 Hong Kong dollars (US$14.79), paring year-to-date losses to less than 28%. The rise tracked the company's American Depositary Shares, which advanced 13% overnight.

BeiGene, which is based in Cambridge, Mass., and has offices in China and Switzerland, late Thursday posted second-quarter revenue of US$341.6 million, more than double the US$150.0 million it booked in the year-earlier period. That result, helped by starkly higher sales of its Brukinsa and tislelizumab cancer medicines, beat the consensus estimate of US$313.2 million, according to a FactSet poll of analysts.

The company's net loss widened to US$571.4 million from US$480.3 million a year ago. It attributed that to nonoperating expenses primarily related to foreign-exchange losses due to a stronger U.S. dollar.

Chairman and Chief Executive John V. Oyler said the company had expanded its drug approvals to more than 50 markets globally by the second quarter.It plans to share final analysis data for a global Phase 3 trial of Brukinsa as well as topline data for tislelizumab "as a first-line treatment for patients with unresectable hepatocellular cancer," during the second half of the year, he said.

Nomura analysts Jialin Zhang and John Nie said in a research note that the company's topline results came in 42% below their estimates, but that its gross profit margin improved slightly from the first quarter while its operating loss narrowed. BeiGene remains their preferred name in the Chinese biotech space.

The bank reiterated a buy rating and target price of US$277.35 on the ADSs, implying a 45% upside from their last closing price.


Write to Clarence Leong at clarence.leong@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

08-05-22 0444ET