Biocon Ltd suffered a setback during the first quarter ended June 2006 and its standalone net profit declined by 16.2 per cent to Rs 27.57 crore from Rs 32.89 crore in the corresponding period of last year. The company's standalone net sales, as per Bombay Stock Exchange, moved up by 18.5 per cent to Rs 183.70 crore from Rs 155.08 crore.

On consolidation basis, Biocon's net profit remained at Rs 39 crore for the quarter ended June 2006. Its consolidated net sales increased by 22 per cent to Rs 212 crore from Rs 174 crore in the similar period of last year. Its sales from biopharmaceuticals improved by 19 per cent to Rs 161 crore from Rs 135 crore and that from enzymes moved up by 10 per cent to Rs 22 crore. The income through contract research went up sharply by 52 per cent to Rs 29 crore from Rs 19 crore in the last period.

The R&D expenditure increased by 50 per cent to Rs 6 crore from Rs 4 crore in the similar period of last year.

Commenting on the results, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, chairman & managing director, Biocon Limited said, "Our financial performance for Q1 FY 07 has generated good profitability despite challenges. This underpins our confidence in pursuing discovery-led research programmes. We believe that our innovation led business initiatives have the potential to realize exponential growth in the long term and deliver superior shareholder value in the future."

The year ahead will continue to be challenging due to market conditions and the impact of depreciation at our new facilities at Biocon Park. The new growth drivers viz. Insulin, immuno-suppressants, branded formulations and monoclonal antibodies are building the bio-pharmaceuticals business in a more robust manner and reducing the dependence on statins, Shaw added.