Chennai: Orchid Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals Ltd. said on Wednesday that it posted a consolidated loss of Rs11.06 crore in the quarter ended December compared with a profit of Rs56.62 crore in the year ago.
The company made an one-time foreign exchange loss of Rs49.07 crore after raising external commercial borrowings of $100 million to repay foreign currency convertible bonds maturing in February.
“The exceptional item loss is a point-in-time restatement and with the rupee strengthening the company will have a write-back on this account,” said K. Raghavendra Rao, chairman and managing director.
The Chennai-based pharmaceutical company said net sales rose 4% to Rs482.10 crore in the quarter.
“Net sales was below expectations. But the company is now focused on improving their core businesses abroad,” said Subrata Sarkar, research analyst at brokerage firm Dalmia Securities Pvt. Ltd, who expects the rupee’s stabilisation will help reverse some of the losses.
Orchid had sold its generic injectable business to a US-based firm for $400 million two years ago and is now refocusing its efforts on businesses in the US and Europe.
“The operational performance of the company continues to register strong growth. Higher interest charges due to the hardening of interest rates coupled with the exchange loss on outstanding foreign currency loans have impacted the bottomline in the third quarter,” Rao said.