Pharmaceutical manufacturer Biocon Ltd. missed estimates in the fourth quarter as profit fell due to a high base effect.
The Kiran Mazumdar Shaw-led company saw its net profit fall 62 percent on a year-on-year basis to Rs 128 crore, according to a stock exchange filing. The higher profit last year was on account of an exceptional gain of Rs 268 crore.
Sales declined 11 percent to Rs 931 crore as compared to a year ago. Both topline and bottomline missed the consensus estimate of analysts tracked by Bloomberg.
Operating profits were down 6 percent to Rs 85.7 crore. However, operational profit margin expanded by 50 basis points to 9.2 percent.
Biocon saw weakness in its core small molecules business, where revenue fell 2.6 percent to Rs 395 crore. The biologics and branded formulations segments reported revenue growth of 6.6 percent and 24.7 percent respectively. Revenue from research services fell 14.6 percent.
The board has recommended offering two free shares for every share held in the company. It has also recommended a final dividend of Rs 3 per share.
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