Natco Pharma shares hit a new low of Rs 482, down 8 percent on the BSE in early morning trade, after the company reported a decline in net profit for the second consecutive quarter, due to lower revenue growth.
The pharma company’s consolidated net profit more-than-halved at Rs 120 crore in March 2019 quarter (Q4FY19). It had posted a profit of Rs 300 crore in the year-ago quarter.
The company said that although the revenue had been flat year-on-year, the marginal decline in profit was primarily due to the write-off of Oseltamivir inventory by the company’s marketing partner in the USA. The flu season in the USA was weaker than expected resulting in the write-off of this inventory valued at approximately $ 5.5 million, it said.
At 11:25 am, Natco Pharma had erased its partial early morning losses and was trading 2 percent lower at Rs 515. A combined 597,923 shares have changed hands on the counter on the BSE and NSE so far.
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