Q3 Results - Net sales at Rs.119.9 crore; PAT at Rs.14.4 crore

Mumbai, January 23, 2010: Hikal Ltd, the preferred long-term outsourcing partner for leading global life sciences companies, today announced its financial results for the third quarter ended 31^st December, 2009. 

Performance highlights for the Quarter ended 31^st December 2009

·         Net sales for the quarter stood at Rs.119.9 crore as compared to Rs.131.0 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

·         The EBIDTA for this quarter increased to Rs. 42.1 crore as compared to Rs.38.5 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year, resulting in an increase of 6%.

·         Profit before tax and extraordinary expenses stood at Rs. 24.6 crore as compared to Rs. 26.4 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year

·         PAT for the quarter was at Rs. 14.4 crore as compared to Rs. 16.0 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year after providing Rs.11.0 crore towards exchange losses.

·         Pharma sales up by 22% to Rs.80.0 crore as compared to Rs.65.7 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

·         Agro sales down by 39% due to inventory cutbacks by our customers

The company’s performance for the nine months ended 31^st December 2009 is as mentioned below.

The Crop protection business recorded net sales of Rs.120.9 crore as compared to Rs. 138.8 crore in the previous year and the Pharmaceutical business increased to Rs.251.3 crore as compared to Rs. 191.5 crore in the previous year; taking the total turnover of the company to Rs.372.2 crore as compared to Rs. 330.3 crore in the previous year. The net profit for nine months is Rs.40.2 crore as compared to Rs.43.8 crore in the previous year.

Commenting on the results, Jai Hiremath, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, Hikal Ltd. said, “Our pharmaceutical business has grown substantially in the last quarter. The de-stocking of inventory by our customers and the slow recovery in the US & Europe has been challenge this quarter. We expect a marked improvement in the next quarter.”

About Hikal

Hikal is a reliable long-term outsourcing partner to companies in the Pharmaceuticals, Crop protection Products, and Specialty Chemicals industry. The company has been supplying key active ingredients (AI), API’s and intermediates, manufactured using stringent global quality standards, for its customers in the United States, Europe and Japan. Hikal’s advanced manufacturing facilities have been inspected and approved by leading global players in Crop protection and Pharmaceutical sectors. The crop protection facilities are located at Taloja and Mahad (Maharashtra). Hikal’s manufacturing activities are supported by state-of-the-art research centres and pilot plant facilities located at Bangalore and Taloja respectively. The API and pharmaceutical intermediates manufacturing facilities are situated in Jigani (Bangalore) and Panoli (Gujarat), respectively. Hikal has also commissioned Acoris Research Ltd., a state-of-the-art contract research facility at the International Biotech Park, Pune.