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Bengaluru-based biopharma company Biocon posted muted annual results on Friday, as it was faced with continued pricing challenges in the generics business, a plant shutdown and lower licensing income in the biologics business.
For the full year ended March 31, the company saw its net profit decline 39 per cent to ₹372 crore, from ₹612 crore in FY17. Revenues grew just 6 per cent to ₹4,336 crore in FY18, against an 18 per cent growth to ₹4,079 crore in the previous fiscal.
“The muted FY18 performance was on account of continued pricing challenges in the generics business coupled with a planned plant shutdown for re-qualification and lower licensing income in the biologics business,” said Biocon CMD Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw. “In addition, operational expenses related to our Malaysia facility impacted the bottomline.”
For the fourth quarter ended March 31, Biocon clocked a 2 per cent increase in net profit to ₹130 crore, against ₹127 crore in the year-ago period. Revenues grew 27 per cent to ₹1,237 crore.
Biocon also reported flattish gross spends on R&D and EBITDA on a year-on-year basis. R&D spends were ₹98 crore and EBITDA came in at 24 per cent in the fourth quarter.
The board has proposed a dividend of ₹1 per share. Biocon shares closed at ₹651, or 1.72 per cent down when compared to the previous day’s close.
A few positives
However, there were some positives in the year, too. Biocon has received approvals across several geographies for its biosimilars. Also, the strong performance of its listed subsidiary Syngene will have a positive impact in FY19. Syngene registered a revenue growth of 45 per cent to ₹409 crore, aided by strong performance of its chemical development vertical and traction in discovery services.
Sales of Biocon’s small molecules or active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) business grew 8 per cent to ₹426 crore in Q4 and revenues from the biologics vertical grew 47 per cent to ₹241 crore. Its branded formulations business reported revenues of ₹149 crore, a growth of 14 per cent on a yearly basis.
The company said the regulatory filings for key APIs in developed and emerging markets prepare the business for a better play, going forward.
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