Beximco Pharma profit drops 27% in March quarter

Beximco Pharmaceuticals Ltd reported a 27% year-on-year drop in its net profit to Tk106 crore in the third quarter of the ongoing fiscal year because it earned no income from vaccine distribution.

But its revenue increased by 22% to Tk895 crore in the January-March quarter.

The company announced on the London Stock Exchange that it has completed delivering 15 million Covid-19 vaccine doses as per its agreement with the government and the Serum Institute of India.

As per the agreement, Beximco Pharma will start the delivery of another 15 million doses in the next financial year.

In the first nine months of fiscal 2021-22, Beximco Pharma's total revenue rose by 19% to Tk2,592 crore and profit increased 14% to Tk420 crore compared to the same period of the previous year.

Last year, the company received 8 million vaccines. According to its third-quarter report of FY21, the company earned Tk77 per vaccine.

According to the London Stock Exchange, Beximco Pharma's Managing Director Nazmul Hassan said, "We are pleased with our continued strong financial position at the end of the third quarter, with double-digit growth year-on-year for the nine-month period in both revenue and profit after tax."

He said that this has been underpinned by positive operational developments such as the receipt of sublicenses to produce generic versions of molnupiravir and Paxlovid from the United Nations-backed Medicines Patent Pool and the ongoing integration of Sanofi Bangladesh, which has now been renamed Synovia Pharma PLC.

"We look forward to continuing this positive momentum into the final quarter as we continue to execute on our mission to provide patients with affordable, high-quality medicines," he added.

On Thursday, Beximco Pharma's shares closed 1% lower at Tk165.7 each on the Dhaka Stock Exchange.