Syngene International Q3 profit rises 1.64% to Rs 111.5 crore

New Delhi: Contract research and manufacturing services firm Syngene International Ltd on Thursday reported 1.64 per cent growth in consolidated net profit at Rs 111.5 crore in the third quarter ended December 2023, impacted by reduced funding in the US biotech segment and transaction costs of the acquisition of a multi-modal facility from Stelis Biopharma.

The company had posted a profit of Rs 109.7 crore in the third quarter of last fiscal, Syngene International said in a regulatory filing.

Consolidated revenue from operations during the quarter under review stood at Rs 853.5 crore as against Rs 785.9 crore in the year-ago period, it added.

Total expenses in the third quarter were higher at Rs 740.9 crore as compared to Rs 663.2 crore in the same period a year ago, Syngene International said.

The company incurred transaction costs of Rs 3.7 crore in the quarter ended December 2023 relating to the acquisition of a multi-modal facility (Unit 3) from Stelis Biopharma Ltd (SBL) and the same has been presented as an exceptional item, it said.

"Overall, our 9 per cent growth in the quarter was affected by reduced funding in the US biotech segment, which impacted demand in our discovery services division. Our dedicated centres and development and manufacturing divisions performed well," Syngene International Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Hunt said.

He further said,"We are starting to see early signs of funding levels stabilising and industry fundamentals for pharma outsourcing remain positive for the medium-to-long term." In terms of business strategy, Hunt said, "We concluded the acquisition of the multi-modal biologics manufacturing facility from Stelis Biopharma Ltd and we have embarked on repurposing the facility from vaccines to biologics manufacturing in preparation for revalidation." The company expects the facility to be ready for operations in the second half of fiscal year 2025, subject to regulatory approvals, he added.

On the outlook, Syngene said the temporary slowdown in biotech funding in the US is likely to result in sustained but slower growth in the near term.

"Taking this into account, we now anticipate full-year revenue growth at around double digits in constant currency compared with our earlier projection of mid-teens constant currency growth," it added.