HYDERABAD/BENGALURU (Reuters) – Indian biopharmaceutical firm Biocon swung to a quarterly loss on higher taxes paid, it said on Wednesday.
Net loss attributable to shareholders was 160 million rupees ($1.90 million) for the quarter ended Sept. 30, against a profit of 1.26 billion rupees a year ago.
After adjusting for exceptional items, the loss was around 130 million rupees, while the profit before tax was 720 million rupees, Biocon said.
“Reported net loss for the quarter.. (was) on account of higher tax, based on geographical split of profits and minority interest,” Group Chief Executive Officer Peter Bains said.
Biocon incurred a 200 million rupee deferred tax charge on withdrawal of indexation benefit during the quarter.
Its revenue from operations rose 3.7% to 35.9 billion rupees, boosted by strong sales of its biosimilars business in key markets United States and Europe. The business, its biggest, posted a 11% rise in revenue.
Biosimilars are copies of costlier biological drugs for treating major illnesses such as cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis.
Revenue from generic drugs business, however, fell 7.7% hurt by lower pricing and stiff competition, especially in U.S. and due to a planned shut down of one of its manufacturing facilities, the company said.
Biocon is banking on its anti-obesity drugs to enable mid and long-term growth in the business.
Indian drugmakers including Biocon are working on versions of popular weight-loss drugs such as Wegovy, by Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk, which have seen skyrocketing demand in global markets which companies such as Novo and Eli Lilly have struggled to keep up with.
($1 = 84.0640 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Rishika Sadam and Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)
