Wockhardt hits lifetime high, soars 14% post Q4 results

Operating margins improved by almost 600 basis points at 35% during the recently concluded quarter

Wockhardt Limited has rallied 6% to Rs 762, also its lifetime high, in an other wise weak market, after reporting a 57% year-on-year (y-o-y) growth in operating profit at Rs 429 crore for the quarter ended March 2012. Operating margins of the pharmaceutical company improved by almost 600 basis points at 35% during the recently concluded quarter. The consolidated net sales increased 32% at Rs 1,241 crore on y-o-y basis.

 However, the company reported consolidated net loss of Rs 192 crore for the fourth quarter of FY12 as against profit of Rs 162 crore in the corresponding quarter of last fiscal, due to exceptional loss of Rs 450 crore during the quarter.

 

 “Wockhardt is back to its positive financial health. Over the past 2 years, our debt/equity ratio has come down from a high of 5.5 to1.9 this financial year, said Wockhardt’s founder chairman & group CEO Dr. Habil Khorakiwala.

The stock has surged 14% in past two trading sessions, compared to around 2% fall in the benchmark index Nifty.

The trading volumes on the counter more than doubled with a combined 2.62 million shares have already changed hands on the counter so far, against an average sub one million shares that were traded daily in past two weeks on both the exchanges.