The net profit at Wockhardt was up by a marginal four per cent for the year ended June 1997 at Rs 62.11 crore as against Rs 59.79 crore the previous year. Earnings per share (EPS) rose to Rs 17.71 from Rs 17.05, up 3.9 per cent. The board has declared a dividend of 50 per cent for the period under review.
A 34 per cent rise in total expenditure, coupled with a 24 per cent drop in other income, neutralised the 33 per cent rise in income from operations.
Total expenditure went up from Rs 186.15 crore to Rs 249.6 crore with R&D expenses at Rs 27 crore. While the total income from operations rose from Rs 234.57 crore to Rs 312.50 crore, the other income dropped from Rs 20.23 crore to Rs 15.37 crore. Company officials said the interest income comprised a major portion of other income.
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The gross profit was Rs 62.9 crore as against Rs 48.42 crore last year. While interest remained at zero level, depreciation rose 21.7 per cent from Rs 8.36 crore to Rs 10.17 crore.
The Rs 6 crore provision for tax on account of MAT also eroded the bottomline. Last year, the company had made a provision of only Rs 0.5 crore for taxation.
Around Rs 150 crore has been spent on manufacturing facilities at Daman for pharmaceuticals, at Ankleshwar for bulk drugs, at Chandigarh for nutrition and at Waluj for biologicals during the last three years, said an official release.