Laurus Labs Ltd, developer and manufacturer of active pharmaceutical ingredients, on Friday (October 20) reported an 84.1% year-on-year (YoY) decline in net profit at ₹37 crore for the second quarter that ended September 30, 2023.

In the corresponding quarter last year, Laurus Labs posted a net profit of ₹232.8crore, the company said in a regulatory filing. CNBC-TV18 Poll had predicted a profit of ₹127 crore for the quarter under review.

In the quarter, total revenue stood at ₹1,224 crore during the period under review, down 22.3% against ₹1,576 crore in the corresponding period of the preceding fiscal. CNBC-TV18 Polls had predicted revenue of ₹292 crore for the quarter under review.

At the operating level, EBITDA declined 58.3 percent to ₹187 crore in the second quarter of this fiscal over ₹448.9 crore in the corresponding period in the previous fiscal. CNBC-TV18 Poll had predicted an EBITDA of ₹292 crore for the quarter under review.

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EBITDA margin stood at 15.3% in the reporting quarter as compared to 28.5% in the corresponding period in the previous fiscal. EBITDA is earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation. CNBC-TV18 Poll had predicted a margin of 21.3% for the quarter under review.

The board of directors of the company has approved the payment of an interim dividend of Rs 0.40 (20%) per equity share of Rs 2 each, for the financial year 2023-24.

Dr Satyanarayana Chava, founder, and chief executive officer, said, "ImmunoAct associate company of Laurus became the first strategic collaboration to win marketing approval for India’'s first CAR-T therapy, NexCAR19."

V V Ravi Kumar, executive director and chief financial officer said the company delivered sequential recovery in the quarter driven by healthy underlying demand in our product portfolio. During Q2 FY24, the company achieved ₹1,224 crore in revenues, representing a 22% decline and 4% growth quarter-on-quarter.

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"While gross margins were stable at 52.5% our operating margin has recovered from Q1 lows. We expect the overall positive momentum to continue along with realisation of cost initiatives driving improved operational results. Our ROCE on a TTM basis stood at 11.4% with a comfortable Balance sheet position. In H1, Laurus Lab invested a total of ₹385 crore capex and we are on track to execute our future capex as scheduled," he added.

Shares of Laurus Labs Ltd ended at ₹400, up by ₹4.10, or 1.04 percent on the BSE.

First Published:Oct 20, 2023 3:50 PM IST