Hind Latex plans vaccine foray

Public sector Hindustan Latex has firmed up plans to foray in the vaccine segment and will be marketing Hepatitis B and typhoid vaccines in the country.

M Ayyappan, chairman and managing director of the company, said here that the company's plan to venture into the vaccine segment came following "the need to have affordable high-quality vaccines to prevent communicable diseases."

He added that it was a public health priority as communicable diseases contributed a significant share of the global burden of disease, particularly in developing nations.

The Thiruvananthapuram-headquartered company is all set to don the mini-ratna status any time now, as all the criteria required for the status have been fulfilled, according to Ayyappan.

The company, which is among the premier condom manufacturers in the country, is also into manufacture of healthcare products.

Adding to its healthcare product range, the company has unveiled a new reuse prevention syringe, brand named Bsure.

Ayyappan said, "Bsure has been introduced in partnership with Becton & Dickinson (BD), one of the world's leading healthcare players."

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PAT at Rs 22.65 cr

The company posted a turnover of Rs 213 crore and a profit after tax of Rs 22.65 crore during FY06.

Announcing the financial performance of the company here, Ayyappan said that the public sector company aimed at a turnover of Rs 320 crore in the current financial year, which would mean a growth of 50 per cent over the past year.

In 2004-05, it posted a turnover of Rs 195 crore and net profit of Rs 20.11 crore.