INNOSTAR ORD A (SHH) EQSW Exp:

Two biopharmaceutical CRO companies on the STAR Market, Medicilon and Innostar, have released their 2026 half-year reports, both swinging to profitability. Medicilon reported first-half revenue of 761 million yuan, up 40.91 percent year on year, with net profit attributable to shareholders of 51.6 million yuan, compared with a loss of 12.9 million yuan in the same period last year. Innostar reported first-half revenue of 465 million yuan, up 23.92 percent year on year, with net profit attributable to shareholders of 39.17 million yuan, compared with a loss of 15.19 million yuan a year earlier. Both companies said the improvement was driven by a recovery in global innovative drug R&D demand, ample order backlogs, and higher capacity utilization. CRO leader WuXi AppTec previously disclosed in its half-year report that first-half revenue reached 28.9 billion yuan, up 38.93 percent year on year, with net profit attributable to shareholders of 11.08 billion yuan, up 29.43 percent, and raised its full-year revenue guidance to between 58.5 billion and 60.5 billion yuan.

Innostar disclosed its 2026 semi-annual report. In the first half, it achieved operating revenue of 465 million yuan, up 23.92% year on year. Net profit attributable to the parent company was 39.17 million yuan, and net profit after deducting non-recurring items was 32.90 million yuan, turning from loss to profit compared with the same period last year. The company's new orders reached 1.466 billion yuan, up 175.56% year on year. As of the end of the first half, orders in hand stood at 2.247 billion yuan, an increase of 80.09% from the end of 2025. The number of newly signed core business IND and NDA projects rose 33.03% year on year in total, and the value of newly signed overseas contracts increased 38.08% year on year. The company said the improvement in performance was mainly due to a recovery in industry demand, which drove both order volume and prices higher.