GC said that its cumulative sales up to the third quarter of this year have surpassed 1 trillion won ($858 million).

The company registered 369.7 billion won in sales in the third quarter, up 4.9 percent from the same period last year, while posting an operating and net profit of 36.6 billion won and 22.4 billion won, up 30.6 and 41.7 percent, respectively.

GC said it marked a sharp rise in profitability in the third quarter thanks to growth in its flagship business and efficient management of marketing expenses. "Such trend is even more pronounced when we look at the performance of GC alone, excluding its subseries and affiliates," the company said.

Aside from its subsidiaries, the company's sales rose 3.9 percent, and operating profit increased 34.1 percent compared to the same period last year.

By sector, the vaccine unit led overall revenue growth by marking a high increase rate of 28.2 percent in the domestic market. High-margin products such as the influenza vaccines and Hunterase, a Hunter syndrome drug, also showed strong sales growth in both domestic and foreign markets, rising 24.4 and 28.6 percent, respectively.

GC MS posted sales of 21.8 billion won in the third quarter, up 2.3 percent compared to the same period last year. The company's profitability also continued to improve thanks to robust growth in the diagnostic and hemodialysis businesses.

GC Labcell's revenue grew 19.9 percent to 14.6 billion won in the July-Sept. quarter, aided by the improvement of its flagship business, including sample screening services and clinical trial services.

"In addition to investing more in R&D expenses, we plan to continue to strengthen profitability through cost reduction," a company official said.