DEXLEVO Chooses 'Standard Listing,' Swings to a Loss in 2025... Bumpy Road Expected in Achieving 600 Billion Won Valuation

The Challenge of CEO Yoo Jae-won from Samyang Corporation and Celltrion, the Legend of the World's First 'Liquid PCL'

DEXLEVO's founding story begins with the extraordinary background of CEO Yoo Jae-won. A former researcher at Samyang Corporation, a chemical and food enterprise, he previously participated in the research and development of anticancer drugs using drug delivery technology, gaining valuable experience in U.S. clinical trials and license-out agreements. Later, after working at Celltrion and discovering new possibilities in the skin aesthetics market, he founded DEXLEVO in 2013, and key members from his days at Samyang Corporation joined one after another to devote themselves to research and development.

The result of this is the world's first liquid PCL (Polycaprolactone) filler, 'GOURI'. Unlike existing particle-type products that require dozens of punch holes to be made, GOURI can be injected through just a single punch hole, and its defining characteristic is that it is injected in liquid form and then spreads throughout the skin to induce collagen regeneration.

This product acquired European CE certification in 2021 and has now entered about 50 countries worldwide, proving its product competitiveness by winning a technology-related award at the Aesthetic & Anti-Aging Medicine World Congress (AMWC). Recently, it obtained product approval from the domestic Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and was officially launched in the domestic market.

[GOURI Package, Source: DEXLEVO Website]

Rapid Growth and Turnaround to Profit, Followed by Another 'Deficit'

Such technological prowess directly led to a high-flying performance. According to the condensed income statement, DEXLEVO's sales were approximately 1.44 billion won in 2019, 1.27 billion won in 2020, and 3.64 billion won in 2021, showing the typical early stages of a research and development-based venture, but in 2022, it recorded sales of 8.63 billion won and successfully achieved its first turnaround to profit with an operating profit of 1.88 billion won.

Subsequently, in 2023, it achieved sales of 11.29 billion won and an operating profit of 2.51 billion won, and in 2024, it also recorded sales of 12.18 billion won and an operating profit of 2.21 billion won, solidifying a robust surplus trend. The switch in its Initial Public Offering (IPO) track to a 'standard listing', which demands strict performance requirements, instead of the 'technology exception listing' primarily chosen by biotech companies, was based precisely on this confidence stemming from three consecutive years of profit and steep top-line growth.

However, in 2025, with the standard listing just around the corner, DEXLEVO's performance hit a sudden brake. The current term's sales in 2025 grew by about 8% year-on-year to approximately 13.18 billion won, continuing its external expansion, but the operating profit and loss plummeted from a surplus of 2.21 billion won to a deficit of 3.3 billion won, and the net profit and loss for the current term nosedived from a surplus of 2 billion won to a deficit of 3.58 billion won.

Background of the Massive Swing to Loss: Profitability Eroded on the Way to a 600 Billion Won Valuation

The decisive reason for the large-scale swing to loss was the rise in the cost of sales ratio and the explosive increase in selling, general, and administrative (SG&A) expenses. The cost of sales ratio surged from 15.5% in 2024 to 24.6% in 2025, and SG&A expenses, the core of operating costs, exploded by a staggering 64% from 8.08 billion won to 13.25 billion won.

In detail, fixed-cost-natured labor expenses and aggressive marketing costs heavily eroded profitability, with salaries increasing by about 1.68 billion won, advertising and promotion expenses by about 1.31 billion won, and commission fees by about 930 million won. The fact that the increase in SG&A expenses (64%) was abnormally large compared to the sales growth rate (8%) is interpreted as the result of the management pushing forward with the domestic launch and marketing expansion to achieve their internal target of a '600 billion won corporate valuation' at the time of listing. For reference, when it received a 26 billion won investment from Smilegate Investment and others in 2021, its estimated corporate valuation was around 250 billion won.

Future Outlook: Expectations for Facility Investment vs. MFDS Investigation Risk

However, positive indicators can also be seen on the financial statements. Assets under construction for the expansion of production infrastructure increased significantly from 59.4 million won in 2024 to 1.07 billion won in 2025. This is an aggressive investment in production facilities in preparation for the future expansion of domestic and global demand for 'GOURI', and if the utilization rate increases after completion, it could become a strong momentum for profitability improvement.

But in addition to the deteriorating performance, a fatal regulatory risk lurks on DEXLEVO's path to a standard listing. Currently, DEXLEVO is 'under investigation by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety regarding potential violations of medical device-related laws, and as of the end of the current term, the outcome of the investigation is difficult to predict.'

Ultimately, despite the innovative founding story and technological success on the global stage, in order to cross the threshold of a standard listing and be fully recognized for a 600 billion won valuation, how the company resolves the obstacles of improving its exploded cost structure (returning to profit) and the MFDS investigation is expected to be the key factor. As of now, the hurdles to overcome have risen too high for the company to head straight for a smooth listing as the market expects.