Indoco Remedies mulls acquisition in Britain

Indoco Remedies, a Rs 344-crore pharma company, is currently evaluating acquisitions abroad, especially in the UK.

Senior company officials declined to provide details on the issue but said that a foreign company would strengthen its existing product segments that include the anti-infective, dental and urinary segments.

Meanwhile, Indoco is planning to invest Rs 25 crore to set up a manufacturing facility at Baddi (Himachal Pradesh) for its existing product segments.

In addition, senior company officials highlighted that they were planning to launch nearly five products in the domestic market over the next 6-12 months.

Ganesh Gokhale, general manager (finance & accounts), Indoco Remedies, said, "The domestic market has shown buoyant growth over the last few years and we are keen to leverage the opportunity."

Another key growth area for the company is contract manufacturing. In the six months ended December 31, 2007, contract manufacturing contributed Rs 27 crore to its revenues.

The company hopes to garner Rs 40 crore from this segment by the March quarter. Senior company officials said that there was big opportunity in supplying opthalmic products to the US through contract manufacturing.

For the financial year ended June 30, 2007, it recorded a turnover of approximately Rs 30 crore from its contract manufacturing business.

The company's operating profit grew 26.1 per cent year-on-year to Rs 16.4 crore in the December 2007 quarter, while net sales rose 14.9 per cent to Rs 91.18 crore. The operating profit margin also rose by 150 basis points to 18 per cent.