Biocon Q3 net up 24% at Rs 101 cr
Riding on sound growth in branded formulations and statins, Bangalore-headquartered biopharmaceutical company, Biocon Ltd, has registered a net profit of Rs 101 crore in the third quarter of the current financial year, a rise of 24 per cent compared to the same period of the last financial year.
While the company’s total income rose by 15 per cent to Rs 738 crore, against Rs 642 crore posted in the year-ago period, its operating profit saw a significant rise of 34 per cent to Rs 178 crore during the same period. “Biocon has delivered the highest-ever net profit this quarter and has crossed the Rs 100-crore mark. The operating margin has also increased to 24 per cent, reflecting the improved quality of earnings,” Biocon Chairman and Managing Director Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw said. She also added that this would enable the company to invest in advancing research programmes and expanding manufacturing and marketing partnerships in the future.
During the third quarter, the income from the company’s biophamaceutical business rose by 15 per cent to Rs 649 crore, compared to Rs 566 crore last year. “There is strong growth in sales of immunosuppressants, statins and other branded formulations segment,” Shaw said.
The six verticals in branded formulations — diabetology, oncotherapeutics, nephrology, cardiology, dermatology and comprehensive care —have posted a 32 per cent growth in the first nine months period of the current financial year, Shaw added.
Earnings from contract research grew by 14 per cent to Rs 79 crore during this period, compared with Rs 69 crore in the corresponding period last year. “Both Syngene and Clinigene have shown significant traction in the business growth due to new offerings like value added services and more partnership based work,” she said. Talking about the listing of its contractual arms, Shaw said this may materialise sometime in the next financial year.
However, Biocon's German subsidiary, AxiCorp has witnessed slow growth due to the regulatory imposition by the German government.
“There is a slowdown of growth in AxiCorp, as the German government has forced drugmakers to give 16 per cent rebate for the next three years,” she said, adding that “The growth outlook for AxiCorp will remain muted in the near future due to such imposition.”
During the nine months starting April, 2010, the company received around Rs 122 crore of milestone payment, giving significant upside to its revenues. “We are very optimistic regarding growth prospects in the year ahead and will see significant upside on account of such milestone payment,” Shaw said.
Biocon had recently entered into an agreement with US-based pharmaceutical company Pfizer to market its four bio-similar products in the insulin space --- Recombinant Human Insulin, Glargine, Aspart and Lispro --- in the global market, for which the company will receive around $350 million (Rs 1600 crore) as licensing and marketing fees. “We will start co-marketing our insulin products with Pfizer in the emerging economies soon and are hopeful of earnings from this segment in FY12,” Shaw said.
Shaw also said that the company would conduct more trials on oral insulin and start talking with global pharma companies for partnership. “We will start discussions with global pharma companies for partnerships, with regard to our oral insulin programme in the next six months and will continue with the human trials of the drug,” she said. Earlier, despite encouraging results in its oral insulin trial, the company was not able to achieve its primary target due to placebo effect.
Referring to the research and development expenditure, Shaw said the company would stick to its previous estimate of Rs 150 crore- Rs 160 crore for the current fiscal. “R&D spend will remain in the same range or may be slightly higher during the next financial year,” she said.