Biocon shares slump on earnings disappointment

Reuters Market Eye -Shares in Biocon Ltd slump after earnings disappointed some investors. Biocon said on Wednesday its December-quarter consolidated net profit rose 14 percent to 1.05 billion rupees. Some analysts cited disappointment over operating margins, with Kotak Institutional Equities expressing concerns about research and development margins. "R&D margin at 2.9 percent is the lowest in the past several quarters, which raises concerns on sustainability of the margin improvement," it said in a report. Investors are also locking profits after the stock jumped 8.5 percent in the previous three sessions. Biocon shares were trading down 5.2 percent at 3 p.m. (Reporting by Abhishek Vishnoi)