Biocon Q2 net profit down 23% at Rs 195 crore

Biotechnology major Biocon on Friday reported a 23.01 percent fall in its consolidated net profit to Rs 195.4 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, mainly on account of higher expenses.

It had posted a net profit of Rs 253.8 crore for the July-September quarter previous fiscal, Biocon said in a late-night BSE filing on Thursday.

Its consolidated total income stood at Rs 1,760.3 crore for the quarter under consideration.

It was Rs 1,605.7 crore for the same period a year ago, it added.

"Our profitability was impacted on account of higher R&D expenses, staff costs, other expenses and forex losses. However, our core EBITDA margins stood at a healthy 32 per cent, indicating sound operational performance,” Biocon Executive Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw said.

As a part of our commitment to address the novel coronavirus pandemic in India, the Biocon Group is working on a comprehensive portfolio of products for treating mild to severely ill COVID-19 patients, she added.

"Our Insulin Glargine, Semglee was commercialised in the US by our partner Mylan, during the quarter, thus heralding our entry into the US Insulins market. With this launch, we have expanded our portfolio of Biosimilars and occupy a position of impactful influence in the Biosimilars segment,” Mazumdar-Shaw said.

The R&D expense of the company for the quarter ended September 30, 2020, was at Rs 148 crore as against Rs 104 crore in the same period of the previous fiscal, Biocon said.