Samsung Bio is bringing its financial hot streak into 2026, with no signs of stopping—save for a potential worker strike bubbling beneath the surface of its record-high revenues.
The South Korean CDMO reported first-quarter revenues of 1.26 trillion Korean won ($851.9 million), good for a massive 257.6 billion Korean won ($174.4 million) boost over the same period last year.
The solid momentum was largely driven by “full utilization” across its four manufacturing plants, with cumulative contract value over the quarter coming out to $21.4 billion reflecting “continued demand from global clients,” the company said.
“In the first quarter, Samsung Biologics delivered stable growth, supported by consistent execution across our manufacturing network and continued demand from clients,” CEO John Rim noted in a company release, adding that the company remains focused on “quality excellence, operational consistency, and strategic investment to support sustainable long-term growth.”
As business at its more recently opened fifth plant ramps up, Samsung Bio said it's confident to meet its 2026 revenue forecast of 15% to 20% annual growth.
That guidance includes contributions to come from the acquisition of its first U.S. site, a spot in Rockville, Maryland with 60,000-liters of drug substance capacity that Samsung Bio snapped up from GSK. The deal retained the 500 workers at the site and officially wrapped up earlier this month.
While the CDMO pays mind to its emerging U.S. footprint and growing global workforce, trouble is brewing back at its home campus in Songdo, Incheon.
A labor union strike has been written on the walls since late March, when the company’s labor union “overwhelmingly” voted in favor of a strike. At the time, the union warned of “deep structural concerns” regarding management at the company and lower wage conditions despite the company’s swelling profits.
The vote set the plan for a phased strike in motion, with a rally planned for April 22 and the strike set for May 1, lest management present a “credible and autonomous proposal.” The union represents about 75% of total Samsung Bio employees, according to its release at the time.
Now, April 22 has come, with seemingly no sign of an agreement between the union and management. As such, a 2,200-wide group held the initial rally for an hour outside of Samsung Bio’s Bio Campus 1, the union reported.
A Samsung Bio spokesperson explained in an emailed statement that the rally was an “orderly, non-working hour event organized by the labor union during ongoing collective bargaining negotiations.”
“It did not involve any work stoppage, and all manufacturing operations at our facility remain stable and unaffected,” the company representative continued. “We remain focused on maintaining stable operations and ensuring the uninterrupted supply of medicines to patients.”
Much of the discourse stems from a November leak of personnel-related documents, which management has failed to “apologize for or take responsibility for,” according to the labor union’s chair, Park Jaesung.
“Even now, we have not abandoned the chance for dialogue,” Jaesung emphasized. “But if management continues to refuse meaningful talks, we will show our determination through the planned strike action.”
The leak contained sensitive personal information about 5,000 employees, including addresses, salaries and performance reviews, Business Korea reported at the time.
Now, the union is seeking broader changes at the company, with Jaesung calling the mission a “fight to change the company’s decision-making structure.”
Some of the concerns lay with Samsung Bio’s parent company, Samsung Electronics, and the “lack of independent bargaining authority” the CDMO holds within its larger conglomerate, the union previously said.
Other issues include compensation in comparison to the company’s competitors. Samsung Bio’s starting salary is at “less than 50 million won,” while those who start at Lotte Biologics are in line for 54 million won, Park said, as reported by Business Korea.
Last year, Samsung Bio hit record sales of 4.6 trillion Korean won ($3.1 billion). It also became the first Korean biopharma to pass the 2-trillion-won annual profit threshold. However, losses could result from a production delay if the strike materializes as planned from May 1 to May 5, according to Business Korea.