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Auronindo Pharma shares dropped as much 7.5 per cent to Rs 730.05 against the previous close of Rs 789.20 on Friday despite the company posting higher net profit for the second quarter ended September 30, 2017.
Following a positive open at Rs 808 against the previous close of Rs 789.20, the scrip touched an intraday high of Rs 808 and a low of Rs 730.05 on the BSE. In terms of equity volume, 8.52 lakh shares were traded on the BSE.
At the closing trade, the stock was down 6.2 per cent at Rs 740.25.
In the second quarter numbers announced after trading hours on Thursday, Hyderabad-based Aurobindo had posted 29 per cent increase in its consolidated net profit for the second quarter ended September 30, 2017 at Rs 781 crore against Rs 605 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year.
Total revenues grew 17.5 per cent to Rs 4,436 crore from Rs 3,775 crore in the year-ago period.
The board of directors of the company had approved an interim divided of 150 per cent or Rs 1.50 per equity share of face value of Rs 1 each, the company said in a release.
The company posted positive sales growth in the US, EU and emerging markets, but this did not translate into strong profit as gross margins and EBITDA margins were weaker than expected, according to Credit Suisse analysts.
As a result, EBITDA (pre R&D) was just in-line, Credit Suisse said.
Q2 EBIDTA before forex and other income grew 20 per cent to Rs 1,117 crore, while EBITDA margin was at 25.2 per cent.
The stock was up 17.9 per cent this year as of Thursday's close, compared with a 8.1 per cent decline on the Nifty Pharma index.
Commenting on the results, N Govindarajan, Managing Director, Aurobindo said: "Strong growth in US, European Union and growth markets have contributed to a healthy performance in Q2.''
Despite 'challenging' environment, US business posted 21 per cent growth year-on-year driven by new product launches and increased volume of existing products.
"The steady focus on developing a differentiated and speciality product basket will help sustain the growth momentum for the future,'' he added.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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