Biocon Q3 net up six-fold

CORPORATE SCORECARD

Biotech major Biocon recorded a net profit of Rs 292 crore in the third quarter ended December 2007, a six-fold increase over the corresponding quarter last fiscal, due to the sale of its enzymes unit.

The company posted a one-time exceptional pre-tax gain of Rs 330 crore from sale of the enzymes unit.

The overall sales fell by 3.7 per cent year-on-year to Rs 237 crore in the third quarter.

Biocon CMD Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw said, "We have sustained both revenue and profit growth following the divestment of our enzyme business. We continue to increase R&D investments in the firm belief that our innovation-led business strategy will deliver rich dividends to our shareholders in the foreseeable future."

An important event in this quarter has been the board's decision to establish a committee to take the necessary steps to list Biocon's wholly owned subsidiary, Syngene on the Indian stock exchanges during FY2008-09.

"We believe Syngene has attained critical mass that can be leveraged to deliver a strong growth trajectory. As one of Asia's largest and most profitable contract research companies, Syngene's IPO can deliver superior shareholder value," she added.

Biocon is also eyeing acquisitions. "The sale of the enzymes business has put us in a strong financial position to pursue our international acquisition efforts, aimed at building marketing and distribution capabilities for our range of biologics in the developed markets," Shaw said.

The shares of Biocon lost nearly 1 per cent to close at Rs 540.60 on the BSE today.