Piramal Healthcare’s Q4 profits fall by 13.49% on forex impact

Piramal Healthcare reported a 13.49% decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 114.90 crore for the fourth quarter ended 31 March 2009.

Piramal Healthcare had a net profit of Rs132.82 crore in the March quarter of FY08, the Mumbai-based drug maker said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

Piramal Healthcare net sales rose 9.34% at Rs 850.91 crore in the March 2009 quarter, from Rs778.20 crore in the same period last fiscal.

During the March quarter, the firm incurred a foreign exchange loss of Rs16.90 crore, against a forex gain of Rs10.33 crore in the year-ago period.

“Piramal Healthcare has incurred a forex loss of Rs. 821.1 million. As a result, the actual growth in profitability was lower. Operating Profit grew by 7.5% to Rs. 5.9 billion and operating profit margin for the year was lower at 17.7% as compared to 18.9% for FY08. Net Profit was lower by 5.3% at Rs. 3.1 billion. EPS was marginally lower at Rs. 15.1 per share as compared to Rs. 15.9 per share for FY08, ‘’a company release stated.

The board has declared a dividend of 210% for FY09, at the rate of Rs4.20 a piece, on shares of face value of Rs 2.

For FY09, Piramal Healthcare posted a net profit of Rs 316.25 crore, down 5.25% from Rs 333.78 crore in FY08.

The company’s net sales for FY09 rose to Rs3,281.10 crore, from Rs2,867.48 crore in FY08.

Piramal Healthcare’s domestic formulations division reported a growth of 24.3%, with sales of Rs.16.0 billion in the finacial year ended on March 2009. The company launched 42 new products during the year.

Piramal Healthcare’s Custom Manufacturing reported a growth of   5.2% to Rs.10.6 billion during FY09.Revenues from facilities in India grew by 73.8% to Rs. 3.9 billion, compared to Rs. 2.2 billion in FY08. During the year, the company has commissioned a new facility at Ahmedabad dedicated exclusively to formulations development. The Company’s API development facility at Ennore was expanded significantly and a new business line of clinical packaging was started at Morpeth, UK.

Piramal Healthcare acquired Minrad International Inc and RxElite Inc. in December 2008 to strengthen its presence in the global critical care segment. The global critical care business recorded a 33.7% growth to Rs. 1.3 billion as compared to Rs. 984.5 million in FY08.

Piramal Healthcare Ltd., a Piramal Group company is currently ranked 4th in the Indian market with a diverse product portfolio spanning nine therapeutic areas. The company is also one of the largest custom manufacturing companies with assets across North America, Europe and Asia. Piramal Healthcare is listed in India on the National Stock Exchange and the Bombay Stock Exchange.