Drug maker Lupin sees its business in the Asia Pacific, Middle East and Latin America (AMLA) region growing strongly and contributing about 25% to its topline from the current 16%.
The AMLA division has been growing at a compounded annual growth rate of 100% since the last five years and should continue with it, said Vinod Dhawan, group president, AMLA, Lupin.
“We want to consolidate our presence in this region and continue growing aggressively,” he said.
Currently, the US is the biggest contributor to Lupin’s turnover at 35-38%.
AMLA contributed about 16% to the company’s turnover of `5,740 crore in 2010-11, which, Dhawan said, should increase to 25% in the future. The company would look for a mix of organic growth and acquisitions in the region.
Within AMLA, markets including Japan, South Africa, Australia and Philippines, where Lupin has subsidiaries, are the focus markets, he said.
In Japan, Lupin is present through its subsidiaries Kyowa and I’rom Pharmaceuticals, in South Africa it has Pharma Dynamics, while in Australia and Philippines, the Mumbai-based drug firm has Generic Health and Multicare Pharmaceuticals, respectively. All these companies were acquired between 2007 and 2011.
A pharma expert with a consulting firm said all these acquisitions, deal sizes of which were below $80-100 million, were small-scale buys and have helped the company scale up its presence in those respective markets by leveraging their networks.
Dhawan said in the future too the company would look at buys in the AMLA region, mostly in markets such as Brazil and Mexico.
“We will be looking for a strong marketing presence in these countries and acquisitions look to be a good proposition.” Lupin will be on a lookout for companies and brands in Mexico and Brazil that make a strategic fit, said Dhawan.
According to the pharma expert, in some markets buys are a better growth proposition than organic growth as they provide access to a readymade distribution network and marketing alliances.
The firm will also look at organic growth in newer markets like Thailand and Malaysia to expand its AMLA business, said Dhawan.
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