What is your view on the latest results of Syngene put out for the Dec-20 quarter?

Syngene Ltd, a part of Biocon Group, saw its Q3 PAT up 11.33% at Rs.102 crore for the Dec-20 quarter. The company reported 12.60% growth in consolidated revenues for Q3 at Rs.585 crore. The pandemic created good demand traction for the core business of Syngene which is contract research & manufacturing services or CRAMS.

Operating profits were up 10.36% at Rs.107 crore. In OPEX terms, the company gained from better inventory management and lower inventory cost but there was a spike in manpower costs and miscellaneous expenses. OPM slightly contracted from 18.59% to 18.22% on a yoy basis while the PAT margins also slightly narrowed from 17.68% in Dec-19 to 17.49% in Dec-20 quarter.

Before taking a view, it must be noted that Syngene had taken an exceptional write-off of Rs.71 crore for the 9-month period on account of the fire incident in Dec-16. Actual loss was more than Rs.100 crore and this is the recognized amount. The company still has a strong franchise and CRAMS does have a good solid trajectory from here.