(Yicai Global) Jan. 20 -- Andon Health’s shares soared by the exchange-imposed trading limit again after the Chinese maker of home-use Covid-19 test kits said it expects annual profit to have climbed up to five times because of surging test kit sales at its US unit. The company also cautioned investors that the stock could fall from historic highs.

Andon Health [SHE: 002432] closed up 10 percent today at CNY77.66 (USD12.24). The stock has gained as much as 15 times in value in the two and a half months since the US Food and Drug Administration issued an Emergency Use Authorization for the Covid-19 Antigen Rapid Test made by iHealth Labs, Andon’s US unit.

Net profit likely rose by 271 percent to 295 percent to between CNY900 million and CNY1.2 billion (USD141.9 million and USD189.1 million) in the 12 months ended Dec. 31, the Tianjin-based company said yesterday.

Andon Health also warned that its stock price could drop in the future. It outlined eight major risks facing the company including uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus situation in the Unites States and market competition, rationality of valuation models, reliability of information, exchange rate fluctuations, logistics and transport, quality, and orders.

The FDA approved iHealth Lab’s antigen test for emergency use on Nov. 5 last year. On Jan. 6, Andon Health announced that the FDA said the test can effectively detect the omicron variant.

IHealth received a USD1.3 billion order for 250 million test kits from the US Army Contracting Command and bagged USD333 million worth of sales to the US states of New York and Massachusetts, its parent company said earlier this month.

Before the pandemic, Andon Health mainly made blood pressure monitors and blood glucose meters. It made a net profit of CNY240 million (USD37.8 million) in 2020 amid strong sales of items such as forehead thermometers and oximeters. That followed losses that widened to CNY242 million in 2019 from CNY11.3 million (USD1.8 million) in 2013.

The company’s net profit sank 86 percent to CNY50.1 million on a 51 percent drop in revenue to CNY790 million in the first three quarters of last year.

Editor: Futura Costaglione