Biocon Q1 pre-tax profit declines 21% to Rs 252.30 crore, revenue up 14%
Biotechnology major Biocon on Friday posted a profit before tax (PBT) of Rs 252.30 crore for the first quarter of FY21, a decline of 21 per cent when compared with the corresponding quarter of previous financial year.
The net profit for the period declined 26 per cent to Rs 167.8 crore on YoY basis, according to a BSE filing by the company. The company’s revenue however saw a double-digit growth of 13.9 per cent as compared to Q1 of FY20 driven by growth in biosimilars and generics segments.
“Profitability for the quarter was impacted due to higher R&D spend, lower profit share in the biosimilars business, and lower profitability in the research services segment,” said Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Executive Chairperson, Biocon.
The R&D spend for this quarter was 35 per cent higher than the corresponding quarter of previous financial year at Rs 107 crore. The research services business reported flat revenue growth at Rs 422 crore due to slowdown of operations impacted by the Covid-19 crisis. EBITDA for the quarter stood at Rs 432 crore and EBITDA margin was at 26 per cent.
Biocon’s Biologics business which had reported a de-growth of 21 per cent during the previous quarter because of Covid-19 related operational challenges bounced back to register a growth of 19 per cent yoy at Rs 692 crore.
“One of the highlights of the quarter was the USFDA approval for Semglee, which will enable us to expand patient access to our Insulin Glargine through our partner Mylan,” said Christiane Hamacher, CEO & Managing Director, Biocon Biologics.
The company targets to have at least eight biosimilars available in developed markets through its partner by the end of FY22, namely Trastuzumab, Pegfilgrastim, Adalimumab, Bevacizumab, Etanercept, Insulin Glargine, Insulin Aspart and rh-Insulin, addressing an estimated market opportunity of up to $33 billion. “Our pipeline is expected to deliver three additional molecules between FY23 and FY25,” said the company.
Earlier this month, the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) had granted restricted emergency use approval for the company’s novel drug Itolizumab to treat critical Covid-19 patients in India. Shaw said the company has planned a 200-patient, pan-India Phase IV trial to be conducted across 10-15 hospitals with a high caseload of serious Covid-19 patients. “The study protocol has been submitted to the DCGI and we will commence the trial soon.” she added.
