On December 16, an investor inquired via the Shenzhen Stock Exchange's interactive platform about Lepu Medical's aesthetic products Yuya Pearl and Niling, seeking sales figures and their contribution to revenue and profits. The company's secretary responded that its youthful needles and hydrating injections generated 86.1367 million yuan in Q3 revenue.
Lepu Medical's hydrating injection, approved in July, is a hyaluronic acid solution developed by subsidiary Sichuan Xingtaipule Medical Technology for skin hydration and brightening. Despite driving Q3 performance with 1.569 billion yuan revenue (up 11.97% YoY) and 291 million yuan net profit (up 176.18% YoY), the hydrating injection market faces intensifying competition.
The youthful needle market has evolved rapidly since China's first product launch in 2021 at 18,000-20,000 yuan per dose. By 2023, five competing products emerged, pushing prices down to 15,000-18,000 yuan. In 2025, approximately 10 products compete, with prices dropping to 12,000-18,000 yuan. Platforms like SoYoung have escalated price wars, offering products at 4,999-5,999 yuan, and even introducing a 2,999 yuan version - less than 20% of standard market prices.
Lepu Medical's traditional business continues struggling. Q3 2024 saw net profit plunge 73.12% YoY to 105 million yuan. From 2021-2023, revenue shrank from 8.635 billion yuan to 6.259 billion yuan, with net profit declining from 1.921 billion yuan to 1.354 billion yuan. This stems from policy impacts on cardiovascular intervention devices (core revenue source) due to centralized procurement, alongside declining surgical anesthesia and IVD segments.
In 2025's first three quarters, medical device revenue grew merely 0.33%, with surgical anesthesia and IVD sales dropping 20.08% and 17.38% respectively. Pharmaceutical revenue grew 6.37%, driven by 14.32% formulation growth, though API business fell 26.89%.
The company carries significant goodwill risk, with 3.62 billion yuan (20.8% of net assets) from historical acquisitions. 2024 saw 251 million yuan impairment losses, including 59.28 million yuan for Suzhou Bosimei. Major acquisitions like Bingkun Medical (533 million yuan goodwill) show stagnant growth, while Zhejiang Lepu Pharmaceutical (375 million yuan) faces 40.93% revenue decline due to procurement policies.
Experts note that while aesthetic products provide short-term relief, traditional business recovery depends on innovation pipeline execution. High goodwill reflects industry-wide acquisition risks, requiring strategic integration rather than mere scale expansion. Lepu Medical's ability to navigate these challenges remains under market scrutiny.
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