He may be more famous for his horses, but Cyrus Poonawalla also runs one of the most successful Indian pharma companies – Serum Institute of India.
Serum’s FY07 revenues of close to Rs 1,000 crore and profit of Rs 350 crore beat many of its listed peers. And its operating margin of 38 per cent are among the highest in the sector.
Most of Serum’s business comes from the sale of preventive vaccines to the World Health Organisation (WHO) and other government agencies across the world.
The company’s product range includes bacterial vaccines, recombinant & combination vaccines, viral vaccines, anti-cancer products and anti-sera, plasma & hormonal products. It is the world’s largest manufacturer of measles vaccine and DTP group of vaccines.
The company has an agreement with the US government’s Programme for Appropriate Technology & Health, for development and supply of vaccines on a long-term basis.
| FINANCIALS | |||
| (Rs crore) | FY06 | FY07 | Y-o-Y (% ) |
| Total income | 700 | 954 | 36 |
| Net profit | 249 | 352 | 41 |
| Salaries | 80 | 104 | 30 |
| Mktg expenses | 86 | 97 | 13 |
| Investments: Stake in Lipoxen PLC, UK 21% Minority stake in Akorn Inc, USA | |||
During FY07, Serum launched a vaccine for prevention of infant mortality and its meningitis A vaccine, being developed in partnership with international agencies, has completed phase 2 clinical trials.
No surprise then that exports constitute over 70 per cent of Serum’s sales and the company claims it exports to over 140 countries. It is very much focussed on the biotech sector and has recently set up Serum Bio Pharma Park, the country’s first biotech special economic zone.
A directors’ report of the institute reads, “The company continues to maintain its leading position in the Indian biotech industry for the second consecutive year. The company wishes to concentrate on the biotech sector and exploit the ever increasing opportunities.”
The company, which is widely perceived as being conservative, has aggressively pursued global tie-ups. It has made a couple of strategic investments and collaborations with foreign pharma companies including buying a 21 per cent stake in a UK biotech company and a minority stake in the US pharma company–Akorn.
The main expenses, apart from raw material purchases, are salary and marketing costs. Poonawalla has his close relatives on the board, led by his son – Adar Poonawalla.
(This is part of the continuing series on unlisted companies)
