Biocon Q1 net profit slumps 51 per cent to Rs 81 crore

NEW DELHI: Bio-pharmaceutical firm Biocon today reported a 51.20 per cent decline in its consolidated net profit to Rs 81.3 crore for the quarter ended June 30, on account of weakening of the US Dollar and GST impact.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 166.6 crore for the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal, Biocon said in a BSE filing.

Total income of the company stood at Rs 987.7 crore for the quarter under consideration, as against Rs 1,032.9 crore in the same period a year ago.

Commenting on the results, Biocon Chairperson & MD Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw said: "Financial performance was muted largely due to a combination of factors: weakening of US Dollar, GST impact and inclusion of operational and fixed costs of Malaysia".

Additionally, the year-on-year comparison was impacted by the one-time adjustment in Q1 of FY17 related to IndAS migration, she added.

A major milestone this quarter was the USFDA Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) recommendation for approval of our biosimilar Trastuzumab, Mazumdar-Shaw said.

"We also received regulatory approvals from the Indian regulator for our biosimilar Bevacizumab," she added.

"The outlook for FY18 remains cautious as much depends on regulatory approvals and tender outcomes for our biosimilars in key emerging markets. However, we will endeavour to maintain healthy core operating margins, going forward," Mazumdar-Shaw said.

Shares of Biocon today closed at Rs 399.10 per scrip on BSE, down 1.13 per cent from its previous close.