Company Watch

Indian Pharma going strong in third quarter

Indian pharma companies are taking forward their winning streak this quarter with companies like Sun Pharma, Ajanta and Lupin registering robust sales. Nicholas Piramal too put forth good sales figures this quarter even though its net profits went down due to product withdrawals. Here are some of the Q3 performances of some companies.

Product withdrawals hinder NPIL's net profits

Nicholas Piramal India Ltd's (NPIL) net sales for the quarter ended December 31, 2005 were Rs 3.5 billion, a growth of 9.2 percent over Q3FY05. The consolidated sales were Rs 4.0 billion, representing a growth of 17.3 percent. However, the net profit for the quarter was Rs 237.3 million, showing de-growth of 69.9 percent, while net profit (before exceptional items) de-grew 31.6 percent to Rs. 238.7 million. The profits of the quarter were affected by lower sales of Phensedyl and withdrawal of two Valdecoxib brands namely Vah and Valto. NPIL booked a marked-to-market foreign exchange loss of Rs 20.9 million, during the quarter. The company nonetheless announced the signing of custom manufacturing contracts with AstraZeneca and Pfizer International.

Ajanta Pharma's Q3 Sales grows 27 percent

Ajanta Pharma, posted a healthy growth of 27 percent in sales for the quarter with sales of Rs 52.16 crore as against Rs 40.97 crore for previous year same quarter. The total sales for the nine-month period indicated a growth of 23 percent. Its profit after tax has increased 56 percent for the quarter to Rs 2.40 crore compared to the same period of previous year, which was Rs 1.54 crore. Profit after tax for the nine-month period stood at Rs 4.88 crore against Rs 3.42 crore for previous year same period. Ajanta Pharma continues to launch more products and add more countries to its portfolio. During the last quarter, it filed 84 dossiers, which will help the company to continue its growth in the international market.

Lupin reports a 51 percent rise in sales revenue

Lupin reported a 51 percent rise in sales revenue for the quarter to Rs 442 crore as against Rs 292.6 crore in the corresponding quarter, last year. Export revenue increased by 56 percent with regular off-take in the advanced markets of existing products and launch of new products in the US market.

Revenues from the domestic market rose by 47 percent on the back of growth in both the API, as well as, the finished dosage business. The company successfully launched and priced an accelerated zero coupon $100 million Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds (FCCB) offering during the quarter. For the nine months ended December 2005, sales grew by 34 percent to Rs 1227 crore. The net profit also increased by 112 percent at Rs 132.5 crore.

Sun Pharma Q3 net sales goes up 33 percent

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, reported strong performance for the Oct-Dec quarter and for the first nine months of 2005-06. The net sales and income from operations account to Rs 434.3 crore, up 33 percent.

The net profit is Rs 146.4 crore, up 37 percent. India formulations registered a growth of 34 percent over the corresponding quarter of the previous year at Rs. 247.6 crore. The company launched 28 key products across all marketing divisions.

Zydus Cadila’s net profit up by 36.1 percent

Zydus Cadila's net profit surged by 36.1 percent to Rs 39.6 crore, up from Rs 29.1 crore in the same period last year on a consolidated basis. Total income for the same period was up by 17 percent at Rs 382.2 crore. Net profit surged to Rs 121.8 crore for nine months ended December 31, 2005. The group has registered a growth of 138 percent y-o-y in its formulation exports. In addition, it has been quite a good year for Zydus as it received approvals for Ribavirin Capsules, Promethazine Tablets and tentative approval for Gatifloxacin Tablets from the USFDA. The cumulative filings stand at 30 ANDAs and 35 DMFs.

Glenmark posts 26.43 percent growth in revenues

Glenmark has registered revenue of Rs 1750.9 million for the quarter ended, a growth of 26.43 compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.

Net profit of stand-alone India operations for the quarter increased to Rs 17.3 crore against Rs 12.11 crore for the corresponding period of FY 2005 indicating a growth of 50.92 percent over the last year. Revenues from India formulations grew by 36.88 percent to Rs 104.28 crore as compared to Rs 76.18 crore in the third quarter of FY 2005. The retail demand of the companies showed an increase of 9.6 percent vis-à-vis the industry growth of 8.2 percent.