Wockhardt Q4 loss widens to Rs 311 crore even as income rises marginally

Pharmaceuticals firm Wockhardt Ltd on Monday reported widening of consolidated net loss to Rs 311 crore in the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2022.

The company had posted a consolidated net loss of Rs 107 crore in the same period previous fiscal, Wockhardt Ltd said in a regulatory filing.

Consolidated total income during the quarter under review stood at Rs 669 crore as compared to Rs 640 crore in the year-ago period, it added.

Total expenses were higher at Rs 833 crore as compared to Rs 818 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago.

During the fourth quarter and the year ended March 31, 2022, the company said it had an exceptional item expense of Rs 183 crore as additional provision for its settlement with the State of Texas on February 8, 2022, in regard to civil investigative demand (CID) with respect to submission of price information and updates to Texas Medicaid.

Wockhardt had agreed to pay USD 36 million and interest over nine instalments between 2022 and 2025, the company said, adding its US subsidiary has already made provision of Rs 51 crore in the previous year ended March 31, 2021 and further provision of Rs 67 crore was made on September 30, 2021.

In the fourth quarter, India business revenue stood at Rs 174 crore registering a growth of 48 per cent and accounted for 27 per cent of the global revenue. UK business clocked Rs 205 crore, contributing about 31 per cent of global revenue, while that of emerging markets stood at Rs 157 crore which was 24 per cent of the global sales.

The company said its US business was impacted by price erosion and supply disruptions with revenue in the quarter at Rs 59 crore, down from Rs 95 crore in Q4 of FY21.

During the quarter, Wockhardt said it successfully completed its rights issue of Rs 748 crore which was fully subscribed and used these proceeds to significantly reduce debt and strengthen the balance sheet.

For the fiscal ended March 31, 2022, consolidated net loss was at Rs 279 crore. The company had posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 688 crore in the previous fiscal.

Total income in FY22 stood at Rs 3,250 crore as compared to Rs 2,840 crore in FY21, the company said.