R&D expense brings down Claris Lifesciences Q2 net loss to Rs 13 cr

Speciality injectables' business posts 31% revenue growth and 35% decline in PAT

Ahmedabad-based Claris Lifesciences posted a net loss of Rs 13 crore during the second quarter of the 2015-16 fiscal as against a net profit of Rs 20 crore in the corresponding quarter last fiscal on account of onetime exceptional items expenses for exploring various strategic and management initiatives for growth of Rs 35 crore.

The company explained that these expenses are primarily lawyers, travel, consultants etc. Its consolidated net income grew by 19 per cent during the quarter to Rs 197 crore. The EBITDA margin during the quarter was 24 per cent.

As for the company's speciality injectables business, the net sales for Q2FY16 stood at Rs 152 crore, growing 31 per cent year-on-year, while its profit after tax actually decreased by 35 per cent to Rs 13 crore on account of research and development (R&D) expensing. Going forward, the company said the R&D run rate is expected to be around Rs 6 crore per quarter. The EBITDA margin was at 20 per cent.

During the quarter, the US sales has shown a strong growth of 177 per cent on a year-on-year basis, which the company attributed to higher demand for its products in the US and limited competition in its range of products in the injectables business.