“These are uncertain times and we need to be careful”, says Mr Ajay Piramal, Chairman of Piramal Healthcare, addressing investor queries on how the company would invest money received from the sale of two of its businesses last year.

“We will restrain investment that will give sub-optimal returns,” he said, adding that they have waited for the last 12 months for opportunities to come-up that meet the company's financial and strategic criteria.

The global markets are down and so is the Indian Sensex; the company has found “time to be our friend, as each day passes by, there will be more opportunities…We are in a transition phase, but will see enhanced value creation at different stages,” he said.

Last year, the company sold its domestic formulations business to Abbott for Rs 17,000 crore and subsequently sold its diagnostics business to Super Religare Laboratories for Rs 600 crore.

Responding to queries on the company's foray into financial services, he said, it would not consume all the cash the company is sitting on, though the next six to 12 months would throw up good opportunities, he added.

Banking plans

The company is “actively considering” inorganic opportunities in the pharma sector, he said. Responding to whether the company would be eligible for a bank licence, he said, it was too early to take a call, as only the draft guidelines had come out. “If we can …we would consider,” he added.

The management has been open with its thinking, and is trying to correct the “negative perception” there is on the company, he told an investor, when asked why the stock-market was not upbeat to the company's plans, “despite decades of small deal-making.”

Drug launch

Nevertheless, the company's plans to launch a drug next year are on track, he said, adding that regulatory filings on CarGel (for cartilage repair in rheumatoid arthritis cases) had been done with the United Kingdom's regulatory authorities. “We are in dialogue with them and hope to launch next year in Europe,” he said.

Further, more promising molecules from the Piramal Life Sciences (PLS) stable are looking at a 2013 launch date, he said. The de-merger of the innovative segment of PLS into Piramal Healthcare will take place by the end of the year, when all regulatory issues will be cleared, company officials said. And with this demerger yet to be completed, PHL's board – though “sensitive” to considering a buyback – will not be able to take a call, Mr Piramal explained.

Depressed forecast

Though the company has grown at a robust 33 percent in the first half of the year, this growth is “unlikely” to continue in the second half, a company official said. The company expects topline growth at 20 percent, he added.

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