The Hindu Business Line : Panacea net dips 5% in Q1

New Delhi, July 24 Panacea Biotec has reported a loss of 5 per cent in net profits at Rs 47.25 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, as against Rs 49.76 crore reported during the corresponding quarter the previous year. Turnover for the quarter was at Rs 233.43 crore registering almost no growth from the corresponding quarter the previous year.

“Panacea Biotec has registered growth in its forex earning as well as domestic business in both pharma and vaccines, however the impact of growth was nullified by around 10 per cent appreciation of the rupee against the US dollar during the quarter under review as compared to the corresponding quarter in the previous year,” said Mr Rajesh Jain, Joint Managing Director, Panacea Biotec, in a company statement.

The country’s second largest vaccine producer’s main business saw a decline of more than 5 per cent with turnovers in the vaccines segment at Rs 183.68 crore. However, it registered a growth of more than 27 per cent in turnover at Rs 49.765 crore in its formulations segment during the quarter.

R&D costs

The companies R&D costs have also gone up during the quarter by more than 31 per cent due to their new R&D facilities turning operational. Panacea Biotec says it spent 5 per cent of its turnover on R&D in the first quarter. WHO pre-qualification process for three vaccines — Ecovac-4, Easyfour and Easyfive is to be completed by October. Eleven new brands were launched during the quarter, including a nutritional biscuit for diabetic patients. Last month, the company also announced its foray into the oncology segment under Oncotrust, a new Strategic Business Unit of the company with a sales projection of Rs 15-20 crore in volume in the next three years.