Forex gains drive Ranbaxy net

CORPORATE SCORECARD

Bottom line up 79% at Rs 128.7 crore for the quarter ended March 2007.

Riding on the back of significant foreign exchange gains and a robust growth in key markets, drug major Ranbaxy Laboratories posted 79 per cent growth in its net profit to Rs 128.7 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2007, against Rs 71.8 crore in the corresponding quarter in 2006.

The foreign exchange gain for the quarter was Rs 55.9 crore against Rs 5.9 crore of the corresponding quarter in the previous year.

Net sales for the quarter was up by 23 per cent at Rs 1,564.4 crore against Rs 1,275.3 crore of the corresponding period in 2006. Earnings per share on a fully diluted basis was Rs 2.61 against Rs 1.91 in 2006.

The company attributed its sales growth to emerging markets and the European continent. Malvinder Mohan Singh, CEO and MD, said: "I expect 20 per cent sales growth for the whole year. The coming months will see the company gain on the 180-day market exclusivity it has on Pravastatin 80 mg tablets, a drug worth $209 million in the US alone."

Ranbaxy is also bullish on its US product pipeline and informed that it has 88 abbreviated new drug applications (ANDA) pending approval with the US FDA.

"These products at an innovator market size are valued at $56 billion and comprise a well-balanced mix of plain vanilla generics, niche & potential first to file products. The company believes that it has a first to file status on approximately 20 Para IV ANDA filings, with an innovator market size in excess of $25 billion" Singh said.

According to him, Ranbaxy is to have at least one first-to-file molecule with 180-day market exclusivity every year till 2011 in the US market. The company is also expecting to find its biogenerics and oncology products being sold in the regulated markets in the coming years.

The company's UK sales increased by 77 per cent to $12 million during the period. Europe (including Romania) registered sales of $93 million, 78 per cent higher than the corresponding previous period.

Singh, who took charge as Ranbaxy's chief 15 months ago, also said that he has completed the organisational restructuring to have his core team in place.

Ranbaxy's board, at a meeting held today, elected Harpal Singh as non-executive chairman. He has been a director since July 2000. The board also appointed Sunil Godhwani as a director in the casual vacancy caused by the resignation of Tejendra Khanna.