Orchid Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals is trading lower by 4% at Rs 103 on reporting a net loss of Rs 20 crore for the quarter ended September 2012 against net profit of Rs 23 crore in year ago quarter due to lower sales and higher interest cost.
The company’s total income from operations declined 21% at Rs 331 crore on year-on-year basis, while interest cost surged 90% to Rs 76 crore from Rs 40 crore during the recently concluded quarter.
“The increased interest outflow and the continuing liquidity pressure leading to working capital constraints have impacted revenues and profitability during the second quarter,” Raghavendra Rao, Chairman and Managing Director of the Orchid Chemicals said.
Meanwhile, on Friday, the company said that it was exiting its 50:50 manufacturing joint venture in China.
The 50% stake that Orchid holds in the joint venture company, NCPC-Orchid Pharmaceuticals, will be transferred to the partner company, North China Pharmaceutical Corporation (NCPC), for a cash of $13.9 million (approx. Rs 76 crore), according to a company release.
The stock opened at Rs 106 and hit a low of Rs 102 on the NSE. A combined 595,243 shares have changed hands on the counter till early noon deals on both the exchanges.