The announcement was made during trading hours today, 26 September 2011.

Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was down 111.54 points, or 0.69%, to 16,050.52.

On BSE, 4.52 lakh shares were traded in the counter as against an average daily volume of 5.33 lakh shares in the past one quarter.

The stock hit a high of Rs 184.30 and a low of Rs 170.25 so far during the day. The stock had hit a 52-week low of Rs 165 on 9 August 2011. The stock had hit a 52-week high of Rs 344.40 on 26 October 2010.

The stock had underperformed the market over the past one month until 23 September 2011, falling 8.34% compared with the Sensex's 2.04% decline. The scrip had also underperformed the market in past one quarter, sliding 28.11% as against 8.83% decline in the Sensex.

The mid-cap pharmaceutical company has an equity capital of Rs 70.44 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10.

Orchid Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals said the fire erupted at a portion of the new drug discovery laboratory, located at the company's research subsidiary Orchid Research Laboratories at Sholinganallur in Chennai. The fire was brought under control by the Tamil Nadu Fire Services squad. The fire damaged office, laboratory equipment, furniture and building interiors. However, there were no human casualties, the company added.

Orchid Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals' net profit fell 28.1% to Rs 15.54 crore on 23.1% increase in net sales to Rs 373.76 crore in Q1 June 2011 over Q1 June 2010.

Orchid Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals is a vertically integrated company spanning the entire pharmaceutical value chain from discovery to delivery with established credentials in research, manufacturing and marketing. The firm enjoys a multi-therapeutic presence across segments like anti-infectives, anti-inflammatory, central nervous system, cardio vascular segment, nutraceuticals and other oral and sterile products. Its pharmaceutical solutions include active pharmaceutical ingredients, finished dosage forms, new drug discovery, novel drug delivery systems and contract research and manufacturing services.