Wockhardt reports consolidated Q4 net profit of Rs334.767 crore

Drug firm Wockhardt today reported a consolidated net profit of Rs334.76 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 2013 against a Rs191.64 crore net loss in the year-ago quarter, helped by robust international sales.

Consolidated net sales stood at Rs1,485.50 crore against Rs1,175.60 crore over the same period a year ago, while international business contributed 83 per cent of the total revenues.

Consolidated net profit for the year ended March 2013 stood at Rs1,594.12 crore against Rs342.71 crore in the previous financial year.

Net sales in 2012-13 were at Rs5,609.42 crore, up from Rs4,350.50 crore in the year-ago period.

According to Wockhardt founder chairman and group CEO Habil Khorakiwala, the strong growth that the group had achieved in the financial year was the result of a robust global strategy, continued focus on R&D and the commitment and confidence of Team Wockhardt.

During 2012-13, R&D expenses stood at 6.7 per cent of sales as against 5.7 per cent in 2011-12 and the company had filed 20 new product applications with the US health regulator in 2012-13, receiving 12 approvals.

Cumulative products pending approval with the USFDA stood at 46 as of March 2013, according to the company.

The drug maker filed 162 patent applications over the year, taking the cumulative filings to 1,733 while it received 52 patents in the year, taking the cumulative patents to 206.

For the year 2012-13, the board had recommended a dividend of Rs5 per equity share of Rs5.

Meanwhile, Live Mint reports that the growth in the US would likely be severely affected by an import alert slapped on its Waluj factory in Aurangabad, which manufactures many of the company's products.

The import ban would not only affect the existing stream of revenue, but also prospective business the company expects from a number of pending approvals, which were filed from the factory at Waluj, according to industry analysts.

With at least 46 products awaiting approval from the US drug regulator, the approval process of these products to be manufactured at this plant would also be affected, according to Live Mint.

The company, has estimated a financial impact of at least $100 million due to the issue and is exploring various options to minimise the impact, including shifting some of the production manufacturing to its other FDA-approved plants and also to a new plant at Shendra in Aurangabad awaiting an FDA audit in the next two or three months.