By Jiahui Huang


WuXi AppTec shares rose sharply after the Chinese biotech company maintained its annual sales target despite lower revenue and net profit in the first half of the year.

Its shares climbed 6.6% in Hong Kong and were 6.2% higher in Shanghai early Tuesday, making it the top gainer on the Hang Seng Index and the CSI 300 Index.

The gains in its Hong Kong-listed shares also pulled the stock further away from a record low hit earlier this month. WuXi AppTec's H shares and A shares have fallen 62% and 43%, respectively, this year.

Nomura said the results slightly missed its expectations. "But we are positive to see that management maintains its top-line target," analysts wrote in a research note.

The company reported first-half revenue of 17.2 billion yuan, or $2.37 billion, down 8.6% from a year earlier, while its net profit dropped 20% to 4.2 billion yuan. Both figures were largely in line with market expectations.

WuXi AppTec maintained its full-year guidance for revenue between 38.3 billion yuan and 40.5 billion yuan. That marks a 2.7% to 8.6% growth excluding Covid-19 commercial projects, Citi analysts said in a note.

Both Citi and Nomura maintained their buy ratings on the stock.

Shares in WuXi AppTec and its affiliates have faced significant headwinds since U.S. lawmakers introduced the Biosecure Act in January, seeking to prohibit U.S. federal agencies from contracting with or granting funds to certain Chinese biotech companies on national-security concerns.

The lawmakers introduced a revised version of the act in May to give U.S. companies until 2032 to work with Chinese biotech firms named in the bill before restricting business tie-ups.


Write to Jiahui Huang at jiahui.huang@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

07-30-24 0014ET