Biocon Q3FY24 results: Net profit at Rs 660 crore, revenue up 50%

Bengaluru-based biopharma firm Biocon reported a net profit before exceptional items at Rs 660 crore for the third quarter of the financial year 2023-24 as against a net loss of Rs 42 crore in the same quarter of the previous year. The company reported a 50 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) growth in revenue of Rs 4,519 crore, beating analyst estimates of Rs 3,673 crore. This growth is driven by 65 per cent growth in Biosimilars and 9 per cent growth in Research Services.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) grew 106 per cent at Rs 1,492 crore representing an Ebitda margin of 33 per cent versus 24 per cent in the same period last year.

Biocon’s overall growth was boosted by the conclusion of the transition of the acquired business by Biocon Biologics and pre-payment of $200 million towards the acquisition-related debt reduction.

“Steady market shares for key biosimilars in the US and EU were complemented by the Emerging Markets performance which saw a number of new product launches and tender wins. We continue to make steady progress towards strengthening the foundation for sustainable growth across all three business segments,” said Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Executive Chairperson, Biocon and Biocon Biologics.

The Biosimilars business delivered 65 per cent Y-o-Y growth and has accomplished the complex integration of the entire acquired business across more than 120 countries, surpassing the initial timeline by a year. This transformation has positioned Biocon as a distinctive, fully integrated, 'lab-to-market' global leader in the biosimilars space.

“Our focus has been on preserving value, business continuity, and ensuring a seamless experience for our patients, customers, and partners across the world. This success is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our team and advisors. During the quarter, the business delivered 65 per cent year-on-year growth as we continued to see robust demand for our products with market shares increasing across geographies. We onboarded new customers and won several key tenders,” said Shreehas Tambe, CEO & Managing Director, Biocon Biologics Limited.

The Generics business declined 7 per cent Y-o-Y primarily due to persistent pricing pressures affecting customer offtake in the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) business compared to the previous fiscal year. However, this challenge was partially mitigated by the growth observed in the Generic Formulations portfolio. “The Generics business delivered 4 per cent sequential revenue growth in the third quarter, driven by higher API sales," said Siddharth Mittal, CEO & Managing Director, Biocon Limited.

“While we expect pricing pressure in the API business to persist, we continue our focus on driving cost and execution efficiencies throughout the business, to mitigate future impact. We received a tentative approval of our Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for Dasatinib tablets from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently, which reinforces our strategy to vertically integrate complex, difficult-to-make products,” he said.

Biocon's research arm Syngene reported revenue growth of 9 per cent year-on-year in the third quarter on the back of good performance by Dedicated Centers, Development and Manufacturing divisions. However, demand in the Discovery Services division was impacted during the quarter by headwinds in the US biotech segment.