Cipla posts lower Q4 net profit of Rs214 crore

Drug-maker Cipla Ltd has posted a net profit of Rs214 crore during the quarter ended 31 March 2011 against Rs275.53 crore during the quarter ended 31 March 2010.Total income of the company has risen to Rs1,689.55 crore during the quarter ended 31 March 2011 from Rs1,419.77 crore during the quarter ended 31 March 2010, unaudited results for Q1 2011 showed.

The company posted a net profit of Rs967.12 crore for the year ended 31 March 2011 as against Rs1,081.49 crore for the year ended 31 March 2010. Total income increased to Rs6,397.41 crore during the year ended 31 March 2011, from Rs5,713.24 crore during the year ended 31 March 2010.

The company attributes the 22 per cent fall in its bottomline for the three months ended 31 March 2011 to exceptional income of Rs95 crore in the corresponding quarter last year and higher factory overheads at its Indore Special Economic Zone (SEZ).

However, reports quoting Cipla's whole-time director S Radhakrishnan, said the Indore facility was expected to contribute around 10 per cent to the company's turnover next year - between Rs400 crore and Rs600 crore.

This would help the company break even in the year ahead, he added. Cipla expects to grow at a conservative rate of about 12 per cent, he added.

Cipla said its operating margins, as a percentage to income from operations, were lower on a year-on-year basis due to change in product-mix, resulting in a 3 per cent material cost increase and negative contribution of Indore SEZ due to optimisation.