Wockhardt sheds 12.9% in 2 days as Govt bans sale of a painkiller

Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 89.41 points or 0.47% at 19,053.59.

On BSE, 1.90 lakh shares were traded in the counter as against average daily volume of 1.13 lakh shares in the past one quarter.

The stock hit a high of Rs 1,074 and a low of Rs 973.45 so far during the day. The stock had hit a 52-week low of Rs 820.10 on 14 June 2012. The stock had hit a record high of Rs 2,166.05 on 12 March 2013.

The stock had underperformed the market over the past one month till 11 June 2013, sliding 37.79% compared with the Sensex's 4.87% fall. The scrip had also underperformed the market in past one quarter, falling 48.5% as against Sensex's 2.56% decline.

The large-cap company has equity capital of Rs 54.79 crore. Face value per share is Rs 5.

Shares of Wockhardt have tumbled 12.96% in two trading sessions from a recent high of Rs 1,201.75 on 10 June 2013, on reports that the health ministry has suspended the sale and distribution of dextropropoxyphene, a pain-relieving drug. The stock had tumbled by the maximum permissible level of 10% to settle at Rs 1,081.60 on Tuesday, 11 June 2013.

Wockhardt markets dextropropoxyphene as Proxyvon. Dextyropropoxyphene, a 40-year-old drug, is an opioid analgesic, and was being misused by addicts. The drug has been under the government scanner for the last couple of years, with its sale already banned in the US, UK and other countries earlier.

Wockhardt last month said that the company has received an 'import alert' from the United States Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) on one of its manufacturing units located in Waluj near Aurangabad. The impact of the import alert on revenue is estimated to be in the range of $100 million on an annualised basis, Wockhardt said at that time. The company is taking all steps to address the concerns raised by USFDA and shall put all efforts to resolve the issue at the earliest, it had said.

Wockhardt reported consolidated net profit of Rs 334.76 crore in Q4 March 2013, as against net loss of Rs 191.64 crore in Q4 March 2012. Net sales rose 26.4% to Rs 1485.50 crore in Q4 March 2013 over Q4 March 2012.

Wockhardt is a high-technology intensive global pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with multi-disciplinary and innovative R&D programmes. It has three research centres globally and manufacturing facilities across India, USA, UK and Ireland. The company has a significant presence in USA, Europe and India.

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