Biocon net profit up 3-fold at Rs 81 crore

Robust growth in pharmaceuticals and contract research business cited as main reasons.

Biocon Ltd, the Bangalore-based biotechnology company, today announced a three-fold rise in its fourth-quarter net profit at Rs 81 crore on a year-on-year basis (YoY), helped by sound growth in pharmaceuticals and contract research business and strong performance by its German subsidiary AxiCorp Ltd. Revenue rose 37 per cent to Rs 666 crore.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation, or Ebitda, improved by 26 per cent to Rs 139 crore due to overall growth momentum in all verticals during this period.

Net profit for the year ended March 31 also rose threefold to Rs 293 crore over the corresponding period. While revenue grew by 44 per cent to Rs 2,405 crore, Ebitda improved by 31 per cent to Rs 509 crore.

“Our sound performance came from pharmaceuticals that recorded growth of 51 per cent and contract research which grew by 25 per cent in the last financial year. We hope to maintain the same momentum in this financial year,” Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, chairman and managing director of Biocon, said. Biocon, with multiple novel research programmes, is also strengthening its research activities.

“We are conducting Phase-III trial of oral insulin and hopeful of concluding it in the second half of 2010. Other drug development programmes like psoriasis, rheumatoid are under Phase-III clinical trial.”

Biocon, planning to invest around Rs 200 crore in 2010-11 in R&D, is ramping up its Biocon Research Laboratory at an investment of Rs 70 crore.

“R&D remains our core focus area and we will leverage our human resource for further progress,” Shaw said. While the research segment contributes 11 per cent to its overall revenue, its German subsidiary accounts for around 38 per cent and pharmaceuticals business 51 per cent.

The domestic market accounts for 10 per cent of its total pharmaceutical sales. While 40 per cent of its sales comes from emerging markets, the rest comes from US and Europe.

“We are more focused on emerging market as the growth opportunities are higher. Though the domestic market is very much in our radar, the overall ratio will remain in 10-15 per cent in future,” Shaw said.