Natco Pharma expects agri business to be key growth lever

Natco Pharma Ltd is in the process of steadily expanding its crop health sciences and agriculture business vertical, leveraging its strengths in synthetic chemistry and research & development (R&D) capabilities across sectors.

The Hyderabad-based company is “targeting a unique set of molecules which have a business potential in domestic and export markets”, it said in a recent investor presentation.

Natco expects agri business to be a growth lever for the coming years, backed by its recent investments in the segment.

Also read: Natco Pharma Q2 net profit up 73 per cent to Rs 204 cr

It initiated greenfield manufacturing facilities for producing niche agrichemical products in the Nellore District of Andhra Pradesh last year with a total capital investment of ₹100 crore.

Products

The product portfolio consists of crop protection chemicals (insecticides, fungicides and herbicides), organic products (pollination enhancers, plant growth regulators) and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) solutions.

With an in-house R&D Centre for crop protection, Natco is focussing on-field farmer activities, demand generation, farmer demonstrations and awareness and handling statutory needs and requirements.

Its current product pipeline includes chlorantraniliprole (CTPR) and other niche molecules.

Pharma

In the core business of pharma, Natco has 20 Para IV products in the pipeline for the complex generics market in the US. In the domestic market, the company plans to launch six to eight products a year.

In the second quarter ended September 2020, Natco posted a 73 per cent increase in consolidated net profit at ₹204 crore driven by robust sales, compared to ₹118 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.

By noon Wednesday, the stock of Natco Pharma was trading at ₹900.35, down 1.39 per cent over its previous close on the BSE.