Pharma major Lupin, on Wednesday, said it will contest the European Commission's decision to penalise the company of 40 million euro in the next couple of days.
"The order is not a court order. It is a fine slapped on us by the European Commission. However, we have a very strong case and would definitely contest the commission's decision," Kamal K Sharma, vice-chairperson, Lupin, told dna.
The Mumbai-based company was recently slapped a fine by the anti-trust wing of the European Commission for trying to block the entry of low-cost generic version of cardiovascular medicine Perindropril in the European Union. The other Indian players who were also pulled up by the commission are Unichem and Matrix Labs.
S Ramesh, chief financial officer, said, "We are confident of our position and will appeal against the decision, possibly within the next few days."
Also, on Wednesday, the third-largest domestic player in terms of revenue reported a better-than-expected first quarter result. Net profit grew by 55.8% to Rs 624.7 crore during the first quarter compared to Rs 401.1 crore posted during the year ago fiscal. Net sales also increased 35.7% to Rs 3,284 crore during the period under review. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and ammortisation (Ebitda) also grew 65.6% to Rs 1,143.7 crore during the June quarter.
The US formulation sales (including IP) grew by 57% to Rs 1,605.5 crore during the period under review, thereby contributing 49% to overall sales. In dollar terms, US revenues increased 46% to $262 million.
During the quarter, the company launched four products in the US. The Indian business recorded a net revenue of Rs 761.5 crore, up 29%. The API business also posted 20% growth to Rs 292.5 crore.
Nilesh Gupta, managing director, Lupin, said, "We have had a great start to the year. Business is at an all time high with record revenues and profits driven by strong growth in the US and in India. We are doing well in all our businesses and focus on operational efficiencies and manufacturing excellence is helping us deliver even stronger margins."
However, R&D spends during the quarter stood at Rs 243.9 crore, 7.4% of net sales as against Rs 195.6 crore, 8.1% of net sales during the first quarter of the last fiscal. The company had earlier said it hopes to spend around 10% of net sales on R&D in this fiscal and over the next few years as well.
Sharma said, "Some of the expenditure did not happen as it is do with clinical trials and some negotiations also didn't get completed. As part of our JV with Yoshindo, we are supposed to carry out clinical developments in Japan for biosimilars and we are just about to begin that."
The vice-chairman, during the 32nd annual general meeting of the company, told shareholders that the companies would like to grow through acquisitions in three segment: geographic expansion, brand acquisition and opportunity to enhance technology capabilities.
"We are always looking for big brands. If the value proposition is compelling, we would make a serious effort to bid," said Ramesh. According to a Reuters report recently, the company is planning to bid for a portfolio of older drugs being auctioned by UK-based GlaxoSmithKline Plc. However, the CFO declined to comment on the issue.
Dr Reddy's Laboratories Q1 net up 52.49% at Rs 550.39 crore
Dr Reddy's Laboratories has reported 52.49% jump in net profit at Rs 550.39 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2014. It had posted a net profit of Rs 360.93 crore for the April-June quarter of the 2013-14 fiscal. Net sales of the company in Q1, 2014-15, rose to Rs 3,517.54 crore, up 23.64% from Rs 2,844.92 crore in the year-ago period. The company said selling, general and administrative expenses rose to Rs 1,067.89 crore in the quarter under review from Rs 879.36 crore in the year-ago period. The research and development expenses also rose to Rs 387.53 crore for the quarter, from Rs 242.97 crore.
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