Chugai net income rises 22.8% to ¥375.3 billion in nine months
Key Facts
Chugai Pharmaceutical said net income under International Financial Reporting Standards reached ¥375.3 billion in the nine months ended September 2026, up 22.8% year on year. Revenue in the same period rose 17.2% to ¥1,068.1 billion, while operating profit increased 21.6% to ¥522.6 billion. The results reflect growth in sales and earnings from January to September, according to financial data published by the company. The figures showed operating profit growth was close to the pace of net income growth, while revenue growth was lower than both. Chugai said full-year results were “expected to exceed forecasts.”
On the sources of growth in Japan, the company said higher sales of Polivy, Hemlibra, Vabysmo, Lunsumio and Elevidys supported domestic revenue. It added that some shipments to wholesalers were brought forward ahead of the company’s transition to a new enterprise resource planning system. Chugai said it “brought forward the shipment schedule to pharmaceutical wholesalers so that shipments would be completed by the end of the third quarter.” This means shipment timing contributed to sales in the period ended in September, alongside demand for the medicines listed. The available figures, however, do not break out the contribution of each medicine or the advanced shipments to total revenue growth.
Overseas sales and other revenue also supported performance during the period. Chugai said exports of Alecensa to Roche increased, while exports of Nemluvio to Galderma rose. The company linked growth in other revenue to higher royalties and one-time income, without specifying their respective shares of the total. Other revenue reached ¥161.3 billion in the nine months, up 37.7% from the same period a year earlier. Meanwhile, research and development expenses rose 9.6% to ¥141.2 billion, reflecting spending on product development alongside higher sales. These figures show revenue growth came from domestic sales, exports and other revenue, while research and development costs also increased.
Results for 2025 provide context for the company’s trajectory before the current nine-month figures. Chugai recorded record core revenue of ¥1,257.9 billion in fiscal 2025, up 7.5%, while core operating profit reached ¥623.2 billion, up 12.1%. These figures measure core performance, whereas the reported nine-month figures for 2026 include results under International Financial Reporting Standards; the two measures therefore are not directly comparable. At parent company Roche, pharmaceutical division sales in the first nine months of 2026 rose 7% at constant exchange rates and 2% in Swiss francs. Roche said Hemlibra and Vabysmo were among the division’s main growth drivers; both are also among the medicines whose domestic sales increased at Chugai. The figures place Chugai’s products in the context of broader growth in Roche’s pharmaceutical division, while the two companies use different measurement bases.
The company reported developments in its product portfolio alongside its financial results. Enspryng received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval to treat thyroid eye disease. Chugai is also targeting the launch of a self-injection formulation of Hemlibra in Japan and overseas markets during 2027, saying the formulation aims to further reduce the treatment burden. These plans link current regulatory developments with products the company intends to make available later, without specifying expected sales. This comes as the company said full-year results were on track to exceed its forecasts, but it did not provide updated annual forecast figures in the information available.
Chugai shares, traded under the ticker CHGCY, closed at $21.79 on October 26, 2026. The company’s schedule lists a third-quarter results conference for October 27, 2026, at 18:00 Japan time. The conference follows the nine-month results announcement and provides an opportunity to discuss financial performance and full-year forecasts. The developments identified by the company for the next phase include the targeted 2027 launch of the self-injection formulation of Hemlibra. The available information did not include further details on the share’s movement during the October 26 session.