Biocon, a Rs. 2,050 crore leading biotechnology company, has posted consolidated net profit growth of 4.6 per cent during the second quarter ended September 2012 to Rs. 89.50 crore from Rs. 85.70 crore in the corresponding period of last year. Its EBDITA moved up by 11.3 per cent to Rs. 166.04 crore from Rs. 149.20 crore. Earnings per share worked out to Rs. 4.59 as against Rs. 4.38 in the last period.

The consolidated net sales improved by 17.2 per cent to Rs. 592.40 crore during the quarter under review from Rs. 505.39 crore in the similar period of last year. Its other operating income jumped to Rs. 36.23 crore from Rs. 8.11 crore. The sales from biopharmaceuticals increased by 8 per cent to Rs. 372 crore from Rs. 345 crore and that from Indian branded formulations increased by 42 per cent to Rs. 91 crore from Rs. 65 crore. Its income from contract research went up by 39 per cent to Rs. 129 crore from Rs. 93 crore.

Biocon's consolidated net sales for the first half ended September 2012 increased by 23.3 per cent to Rs. 1,163 crore from Rs. 944 crore in the similar period of last year. Its net profit grew by 8.2 per cent to Rs. 168 crore from Rs. 156 crore. EBDITA worked out to Rs. 304.66 crore as against Rs. 281.19 crore, a growth of 8.4 per cent. The sales from biopharmaceuticals increased by 15 per cent to Rs. 734 crore from Rs. 640 crore and that of Indian branded formulations went up sharply by 45 per cent to Rs. 178 crore from Rs. 122 crore. Income from contract research surged by 40 per cent to Rs. 252 crore from Rs. 180 crore.

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, chairman and managing director, said, “We continue to deliver good performance across verticals this fiscal. At the half year, we have seen a 23 per cent YoY increase in revenues attributable to both volume growth as well as better export realization on account of depreciating rupee. APIs and Biosimilar Insulins have seen significant business expansion in the emerging markets. Branded formulations and Research Services continue to deliver strong growth. R&D expenditure has risen significantly this fiscal and stands at Rs. 79 crore for H1, a 54 per cent increase over the same period last fiscal.”

“This reflects the progress made by our various biosimilars and novel molecule programs in the clinic including a European Phase III trial for rh-insulin which has generated positive interim data. Whilst this has muted profitability, R&D remains a key investment to drive exponential growth in the future. Imported raw materials, power and personnel costs have also increased by 27 per cent. Despite this, PAT has grown by 8 per cent to Rs. 169 crore for H1 this fiscal. We see this growth momentum continuing for the remaining two quarters,” she added.