Biopharmaceutical major, Biocon’s PAT for the fourth quarter grew by 31 per cent to ₹313 crore against ₹239 crore in the same quarter last year, beating the analyst forecasts on the company’s performance for Q4FY23, which predicted a drop of 58 per cent.
Profitability for the year was muted, mainly on account of pricing pressure in our key markets, as well as increased input costs, which were partially mitigated by cost improvement initiatives, said Siddharth Mittal, CEO and Managing Director, Biocon Limited.
The revenues for this quarter were ₹3,774 crore, a 57 per cent jump compared to ₹2,409 crore in Q4 FY22. For the entire year, revenues were up by 37 per cent ₹11,174 crore compared to ₹8,184 crore. Biocon’s EBITDA for the year stood at ₹1,152 crore, an increase of 75 per cent YoY. IT also declared a dividend of 30 per cent.
“FY23 has been a transformational year led by the acquisition of our partnered biosimilars business from Viatris, which has contributed to Biocon’s robust consolidated financials,” said Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Executive Chairperson, Biocon, and Biocon Biologics.
Biosimilars drive growth
According to the company, the revenue growth was led by biosimilars at 61 per cent, research services at 23 per cent, and generics at 13 per cent. Biosimilars continue to be the largest business segment for Biocon, with revenues of ₹2,102 crore, a growth of 114 per cent, exiting the year on a $1 billion revenue trajectory, Shaw noted.
Biocon will continue to launch new products in the US while gaining market share for existing products by securing new contracts. Its regional expansion strategy saw good progress during the fiscal year as we entered into partnerships with Zentiva in Europe and Farmanguinhos in Brazil.
The company said that its R&D investments have nearly doubled to ₹1,119 crore. “In the quarters ahead, we will continue to focus on operationalizing ongoing capex projects, advancing our product pipeline, and expanding our commercial footprint,” the CEO added.