Biocon & NIIT Q2 Result
CORPORATE SCORECARD
Biocon posts 54% decline in Q2 net profit to Rs 25 cr
Biocon, the Bangalore-based biotech major, has reported a 53.64 per cent drop in consolidated net profit to Rs 25.02 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2008, compared to the corresponding quarter of last year.
This is the second consecutive quarter for which Biocon is reporting a drop in net profit. The company has been hit by marked-to-market (MTM) loss in foreign exchange forward contracts.
However, backed by higher active pharmaceutical ingredients (API), retail branded formulations sales and contract research revenues, the company's total income for the quarter is up 63.35 per cent to Rs 457.73 crore on a y-o-y basis.
During the period, the company's EBIDTA is up 8.14 per cent at Rs 89 crore. Segment-wise, the biopharmaceuticals business grew by 16 per cent to touch Rs 389.10 crore, and contract research services grew 24 per cent to Rs 53.20 crore and licensing saw a decline of 80 per cent to Rs 3 crore. The company's profits for the six months of FY09 was down by 62.54 per cent to Rs 40 crore y-o-y.
However, revenues were up 32.83 per cent to Rs 734.2 crore in FY09. Biocon Chairman and Managing Director Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw said, "The second quarter has seen us deliver high revenues across all divisions. Our API business has registered a 21 per cent year on year growth. Retail branded formulations grew by 36 per cent.
Syngene (contract research subsidiary) has had a strong quarter delivering its best ever sales and operating profit. The company's performance has shown resilience despite being impacted by rupee volatility, which has seen us make a mark to market provision of Rs 60 crore. At a time when global businesses are challenged with an economic downturn, we believe that our strong financial base gives us a significant advantage."
NIIT Technologies Q2 PAT rises 7% to Rs 37 crore
Sharp focus on value-added and intellectual property-related services helped Delhi-based IT solutions company NIIT Technologies post a consolidated profit-after-tax (PAT) of Rs 36.7 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2008, up 7 per cent over the same period last year.
The company's consolidated revenues grew 13 per cent to Rs 258.7 crore from the year-ago period. Sequentially, the company reported a 4 per cent rise in profits while revenues rose 5 per cent. Foreign exchange losses increased this quarter to Rs 8.5 crore compared to Rs 4.3 crore in the previous quarter on account of the rupee's depreciation.
NIIT Technologies Chairman Rajendra S Pawar said, "The share of our non-linear business grew from 23 per cent in the last quarter to 25 per cent this quarter. We unveiled our new solution for insurers, IPF 3 to further enhance our non-linear revenues."