KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 20): Pharmaniaga Bhd's share price fell as much as 30 sen or 12.5% to RM2.10 in afternoon trades today after the company reported a 97% drop in third quarter net profit to RM481,000 from RM15.05 million a year earlier.

Earlier today, Pharmaniaga said in a Bursa Malaysia filing that net profit for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2019 (3QFY19) fell as operating expenses rose. Profit before tax fell to RM3.89 million from RM17.1 million, it said.

For the cumulative nine-month period (9MFY19), the group said net profit declined to RM29.38 million from RM38.03 million a year earlier.

At 2:58pm today, Pharmaniaga shares were traded at RM2.19 among Bursa top decliners. The stock saw 1.17 million shares transacted.