Wockhardt, a Rs.4,350 crore pharma major from Mumbai, has posted impressive performance during the third quarter ended December 2012 and its net profit has taken a quantum jump of 101 per cent to Rs.428 crore from Rs.213 crore in the similar period of last year. Its EBDITA also moved up by 51.4 per cent to Rs.559 crore from Rs.369 crore. The net sales improved by 25.8 per cent to Rs.1,435 crore from Rs.1,141 crore. With strong growth in bottom line, its EPS touched to Rs.39.09 from Rs.19.44 in the last period.

The company provided exceptional income of Rs.10.59 crore during the quarter under review as against a loss of Rs.9.69 crore, which pushed its net profits level. The exceptional items included gain of Rs.30.06 crore towards purchase price adjustment for divestment of nutrition business and reversal of impairment of investment in associate company previously provided. Further, it also included expenses of Rs.11.41 crore towards provision for recompense and other miscellaneous items amounting to Rs.8.06 crore. Its foreign exchange loss amounted to Rs.20.44 crore as compared to Rs.29.58 in the last period.

Despite better growth in working, Wockhardt scrip declined sharply by over Rs.37 today and closed at Rs.1728.75 as against its yesterday's closing of Rs.1766.15 on the BSE.

During the quarter, Wockhardt has issued and allotted 1,22,200 equity shares of face value of Rs.5 each pursuant to exercise of employee stock options. Further it redeemed 208,555,274 optionally convertible cumulative redeemable preference share of Series 1 and same number of non convertible cumulative redeemable preference shares of Series 1 of Rs.5 each. It also redeemed 120,057,695 non convertible cumulative redeemable preference shares of Series 4 of Rs.5 each.

For the nine months period ended, Wockhardt's consolidated net sales increased by 29.9 per cent to Rs.4,124 crore from Rs.3,175 crore in the similar period of last year. Its net profit went up sharply by 135.8 per cent to Rs.1269 crore from Rs.534 crore.

The net profit is up mainly due to lower foreign exchange loss of Rs.2.49 crore during the first nine months ended December 2012 as against Rs.76.25 crore in the last period and exceptional profit of Rs.42.23 crore as compared to loss of Rs.77.81 crore in the corresponding nine months of last year.