Biocon Q4 profit rises 7.6%
Biocon Ltd, India's largest biotechnology firm, said yesterday fourth-quarter net profit rose 7.6 percent as demand for drugs and research services offset the impact of a stronger rupee.
The Bangalore-based firm's after-tax profit rose to 653 million rupees ($16.35 million) in the three months ended March 31, from 607 million rupees a year earlier, the company said in a statement to the stock exchange.
Revenue fell to 2.792 billion rupees from 2.794 billion rupees.
Biocon, founded by India's best known woman entrepreneur Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, is benefiting from drug demand including treatments for diabetes, cancer and kidney ailments, and for research services for foreign clients.
That helped combat the effect of a more than 10 percent appreciation last year in the value of the rupee against the dollar, which cuts local earnings on income earned from overseas.
Biocon's earnings were also crimped by the loss of revenue resulting from the sale of its industrial enzymes unit to Novozymes of Denmark last year for 115 million dollars, as well as rising depreciation and research costs.
Agencies
(China Daily 04/23/2008 page16)
