The Hindu Business Line : Ranbaxy net down 6 pc

DECLINING sales of antibiotic Cefuroxime Axetil in the US has taken a toll on Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. It has resulted in its net profit falling by six per cent during the second quarter of the current financial year to touch Rs 184.95 crore lower than the Rs 196.78 crore registered the previous year.

Total income during the quarter increased to Rs 977.3 crore, up from Rs 897.12 crore recorded last year.

The Ranbaxy Group too showed negative growth with net profit coming down 4.6 per cent to Rs 195.8 crore against Rs 205.3 crore, while its total income increased by 11 per cent to Rs 1,326.7 crorefrom Rs 1,209.4 crore.

For the first six months of the current fiscal, Ranbaxy recorded consolidated sales of Rs 2,565.9 crore, registering a growth of 14 per cent compared to Rs 2,245.1 crore in the same period last year, while the net profit was at Rs 3,86.4 crore.

While the markets of Europe continued to grow, during the second quarter its US operations generated sales of $92 million, a decline of 9 per cent. Sales of Cefuroxime Axetil stood at just $4 million during the second quarter, compared to $36 million recorded during the same period last year.

However, a lower net profit is unlikely to affect the overall performance during 2004, said Dr Brian W. Tempest, Managing Director and CEO.

"We have raised our guidance for the second half of the year and expect it to be much stronger, at over 20 per cent. On net profits, we had predicted a flattish growth during the first half and expect it to be buoyant in the next six months."

He added that the growth would come from the US markets where the company plans to launch several new products.

"We will file for (regulatory) approvals of 25 molecules during the second half, but we have not yet decided how many to launch. We already have approvals for 80 molecules and 40 are awaiting clearances," Dr Tempest added.

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