Vaccine sales boost Beximco Pharma’s profit

Beximco Pharmaceuticals Ltd posted a 45% year-on-year growth in net profits in the October-December quarter of the fiscal 2021-22, thanks to its income from Covid-19 vaccine distribution.

After a seven-month hiatus, the company received 8 million Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines. Beximco Pharma is the only company in Bangladesh contracted to import the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine made by the Serum Institute of India.

The drug-maker earned Tk61.92 crore through distributing vaccines and reported a net profit of Tk165.63 crore in the October-December quarter of FY22. Its earnings per share (EPS) stood at Tk3.84.

Beximco Pharma published its un-audited financial report for the second quarter of FY22 at a board meeting that was held on 27 January.

But on the first trading day after publishing the quarterly report, investors did not show any interest in Beximco Pharma's earning growth and its share price fell by 1% to close at Tk196.4 per share on Sunday at the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE).

The vaccines are being imported under a tripartite agreement among the Bangladesh government, Serum Institute, and Beximco Pharma.

As per the agreement, Beximco Pharma will import three crore doses of vaccines from the Serum Institute of India.

Between January to February last year, the company received 7 million vaccines. According to its third-quarter report of FY21, the company earned Tk77 per vaccine.

Although three crore doses of the vaccines were supposed to be imported in six months, it was delayed as India suspended the vaccine supply.

Later, the Indian government permitted the Serum Institute to provide vaccines to Bangladesh.

Beximco Pharma said to the London Stock Exchange that the company will receive the remaining vaccine as per agreement.

Meanwhile, its drug business also grew in the first half of FY22 and its sales increased 18% to Tk1,696 crore. But Covid-19 headwinds caused a 9% decline in its exports to Tk127.6 crore.

During the H1 of FY22, its net profit jumped 40% to Tk313.18 crore and EPS stood at Tk7.12.

According to the London Stock Exchange, Beximco Pharma's Managing Director Nazmul Hassan said "We are pleased with the financial and operational progress we have made over the first half of the year. Our domestic operations include many highlights, especially the successful acquisition of Sanofi Bangladesh which expands our core capabilities and product offerings."

"In addition, we believe our launch of world-first generic versions of Molnupiravir and Paxlovid, as well as a further 18 new products in Bangladesh, is testament to our continued commitment to delivering essential treatments at an affordable price."

"While we have seen a slight decline in export revenues due to Covid-19 headwinds, we expect this to recover in the second half of the year and, thanks to the ongoing execution of our strategy to deliver high-quality products and breakthrough therapies, we are confident that we will maintain our strong growth trajectory for the year," he added.