Piramal Healthcare posted a net loss of Rs 38 crore for the last quarter of the fiscal ended March 31, 2012.
A combination of factors, including additional investment in Vodafone and increased spending on research, accounted for the loss, a company official told Business Line . Piramal had posted a net profit of Rs 202 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.
The interest expense for the quarter included a one-time expense of Rs 111.7 crore towards discounting of receivables, the company said.
The company had borrowed from banks to fund the additional 5.5 per cent stake it bought in Vodafone for Rs 3,006 crore. This borrowing was against funds that Piramal Healthcare is supposed to receive this September from Abbott – part of a deal to sell its domestic medicines business to Abbott in 2010, the official explained.
With Piramal Healthcare's research arm coming back into the company fold following a realignment, the company incurred a research spend of Rs 31 crore, he said. Also, the corresponding quarter last year saw a Rs 90-crore interest expense on its funds, which was not reflected in the quarter under review, he added.
Total operating income for the quarter was Rs 688 crore, compared to Rs 689 crore in Q4 FY2011, the company said. Income from investments for the quarter was lower at Rs 39 crore, compared to Rs 130 crore last year, due to the investment of Rs 5,862 crore to acquire a total 11 per cent equity stake in Vodafone India Ltd, the company said.
Break-up
In the quarter under review, its custom-manufacturing business (where it makes products for overseas clients) registered a 12 per cent growth at Rs 391 crore, as compared to Rs 349 crore in Q4 FY2011. Its critical care sales grew by 14 per cent to Rs 132 crore, against Rs 116 crore in Q4 FY2011.
And, sales from its over-the-counter and ophthalmology business were at Rs 50 crore, as compared to Rs 67.6 crore in Q4FY2011, the company said. Income from its financial services business, which includes PHL Finance Ltd and IndiaReit Fund, was Rs 26 crore for the quarter, it added.
The company's total operating income for the year ended March 31 was up 17 per cent to Rs 2,352 crore. Net Profit for the year was Rs 115 crore, against last year's Rs 12,735 crore.
For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2012, the company has recommended a dividend of Rs 17.5 per share of face value Rs 2, resulting in a total dividend outgo (including dividend distribution tax) of Rs 351 crore.
Piramal Healthcare shares were down a per cent, at Rs 435 on Thursday, on the BSE.