Square Pharma today said its profit growth slowed down in the first quarter of the financial year ending on September 30 as its operating expenses soared.

The biggest pharmaceutical company's profit rose 10 per cent year-on-year to Tk 550 crore in the July-September period of the current financial year from a year ago, according to the first quarter financial statement.

The drug maker registered 8 per cent year-on-year growth in its gross revenue to Tk 1,881 crore during July-September this year.

While its cost for goods sold grew 7 per cent, its operating expenses -- sale and distribution expenses, administrative expenses and finance cost -- soared 19 per cent to Tk 295 crore during the July-September period of 2022 from the same period a year ago.

Square closed 0.43 per cent higher to Tk 211 today at the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE).

However, the net operating cash flow for each share dropped to Tk 5.87 in three months to the end of September 2022 from Tk 6.61 a year ago.