Chennai: Orchid Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals, the city-based pharma major, has registered a turnover of Rs 541.42 crore for the fiscal year ending 31 March 2003, representing a growth of 27 per cent over the previous year's revenues of Rs 425.52 crore.

The net profit after tax was Rs 19.54 crore as against Rs 6.31 crore for the last fiscal, registering an impressive increase of 210 per cent. The EPS of the company increased threefold to Rs 6.61 compared to Rs 2.25 last fiscal.

The board has recommended a 40-per cent dividend for the year under review on an enhanced equity of Rs 32.38 crore.

The gross profit before interest, depreciation and taxes was Rs 109.63 crore compared to Rs 80.67 crore last fiscal. After providing for interest of Rs 42.08 crore (Rs 31.42 crore last fiscal) and depreciation of Rs 40.31 crore (Rs 35.82 crore) the profit before deferred tax was Rs 27.25 crore as against the previous year's profit before deferred tax of Rs 13.43 crore.

Orchid's revenues for the fourth quarter ended 31 March 2003 stood at Rs 194.96 crore as against Rs 147.18 crore for the corresponding period last fiscal. Additional capacities generated by new bulk active projects completed during the last quarter, coupled with product mix changes, resulted in a higher increase in Q4 performance.

The gross profit before interest, depreciation and taxes was Rs 39.78 crore compared to Rs 23.51 crore, for the corresponding quarter in the last fiscal. The net profit was Rs 10.32 crore, compared to a net loss of Rs 4.12 crore for the corresponding quarter of the last fiscal.

"This fiscal year has been a challenging but satisfying year in our overall growth journey. During the past several months, we have been making significant strategic investments in identified growth horizons of bulk actives, formulations and drug discovery. During 2002-03 all the projects that the company embarked on made substantial progress and many reached completion," says managing director K Raghavendra Rao.

The bulk actives business showed better turnover and profitability last fiscal as a result of capacity generation, product mix optimisation and cost-reduction initiatives. The formulations business has nearly trebled during the year to Rs 61 crore, achieving a critical scale.

A high point of performance in 2002-03 has been the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) certification for the company's flagship product, Cephalexin. Further certifications by the USFDA are planned based on existing and new infrastructure.

New USFDA-compliant oral and sterile cephalosporin bulk actives facilities earmarked for the regulated markets were commissioned during the last quarter of 2002-03. The state-of-the-art oral and sterile cephalosporin formulations plant coming up at Irrungattukottai, near Chennai, is fast nearing completion.

During the fiscal under review, Orchid continued to maintain its strong position in the global cephalosporin markets. During the year, Orchid introduced new high-end cephalosporin molecules, besides a few niche intermediates.

The sale of oral bulk actives accounted for Rs 337 crore and sterile bulk actives brought in revenues of Rs 136 crore. The company sold 800 MT of bulk actives and intermediates, 14 per cent higher than in the last fiscal (701 MT).

Orchid's manufacturing joint venture in China, NCPC Orchid Pharmaceuticals, is in the project execution stage. The drug discovery joint venture in the US, Bexel Pharmaceuticals, has progressed its lead molecule through several studies, which confirmed its efficacy and stability.

The applied research joint venture in Europe has established research and manufacturing infrastructure for developing niche peptide and biotechnology products.