Strides Arcolab pushed up its first-quarter profit 27 per cent year on year to Rs 12.7 crore on the back of strong sales of its specialty or hospital-related sterile medicinal products.
Net sales, however, were about 3 per cent lower at Rs 127 crore (Rs 131 crore) compared to previous year's Q1.
The specialty business that almost doubled year on year (93 per cent growth) also boosted consolidated net sales 31 per cent to Rs 487.5 crore and consolidated net profit to Rs 45 crore or almost 5 per cent y-o-y growth.
Licensing income went up Rs 34 per cent to Rs 112 crore over last year (Rs 83.4 crore)
“In the backdrop of a strong Q1 2011, the recent US FDA approval for the new sterile facility in Bangalore and the first approval for an oncology product from Europe, we expect a further scale-up in our growth momentum, particularly in the specialty business,” said Mr Arun Kumar, Vice-Chairman and Group CEO. In 2009, the company carved out Agila Specialties P Ltd to focus on specialty products such as cancer drugs, penems, penicillins, cephalosporins, ophthalmics, peptides and biosimilars.
The share price on the BSE fell by a rupee to just over Rs 395 each.