FDA ban will only impact US business 10-15%: Ranbaxy

Generic drug maker Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd said on Wednesday that the recent ban by the Federal Drug Agency on exports from its Toansa plant in Punjab to the US, its largest overseas market, will only hit company's American business by 10 to 12 per cent.

Announcing results for the fourth quarter ended 31 December, Ranbaxy chief executive Arun Sawhney said in Delhi that the company, majority-owned by Japan's Daiichi Sankyo, recorded sales of Rs910 crore in the US during the December quarter. Only 10-12 per cent of Ranbaxy's US business was dependent on the Toansa facility in 2013, he added.

Despite the FDA strictures on all its manufactories based in India, Ranbaxy saw a rebound in its financial performance during fourth quarter, as net loss fell to Rs158.9 crore from Rs492.4 crore a year ago. (Unlike most Indian companies, Ranbaxy follows the calendar rather than the financial year for reporting results).

Last month, the FDA issued an import alert against the Toansa plant, raising questions about the company's manufacturing practices (See: US FDA raises concerns over a fourth Ranbaxy facility). 

Sawhney said 85 per cent of its total sales come from outside the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) manufactured at the Toansa facility. ''The internal investigation'' into the circumstances that led to the US ban is ''still going on and stringent action will be taken'' against those found responsible, he added.

he company's total income increased to Rs2,929.2 crore during the December quarter from Rs2,787.8 crore a year ago. Net sales rose to Rs2,858.9 crore from Rs2,670.8 crore. Its share prices also gained proportionally in the bourses.