We expect the profitability to improve in coming quarters: Siddharth Mittal, Biocon

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

«Now, this we do not expect to happen in the coming quarters. And now we expect the profitability which includes core margin, core EBITDA margin, EBITDA margin and PAT to improve in coming quarters,» says Siddharth Mittal, MD & CEO, Biocon.Well, it was quite a weak show this time, to be honest, versus what Street was expecting. Can you talk to us about the reason of such a sharp miss versus what Street expected?Yes, so we did have weak earnings when you look at it.

I mean, the revenue growth was very healthy at 60%. But in terms of the profitability, it was a bit of a de-growth and the main reason was that there was a certain customer contract in the US for pegfilgrastim for which we had to give certain discounts for previous periods and that impacted the profitability. Now, this we do not expect to happen in the coming quarters.

And now we expect the profitability which includes core margin, core EBITDA margin, EBITDA margin and PAT to improve in coming quarters.Okay, so at least in the coming quarters, profitability will improve and that discounting would be needed. But talk to me about the licensing income as well. How did that turn out in Q1? And what is the outlook?Typically, licensing income tends to be lumpy.

When we out-license any of our molecule to our customers, we receive the licensing income and we have had an out-licensing deal or transaction with a partner which led to this large income during this quarter. But we do continue to expect licensing income to be there in the coming quarters. The amount of cost can vary over a period.I just wanted to shift focus to the Biocon Biologics business x of licensing income as well. What kind of growth are you pencilling in there? I think it might be a bit premature to