Morepen Labs clocks Q1 net profit at Rs 19 cr, announces Rs 178 cr expansion plan

Morepen Laboratories on Monday reported a sharp upsurge of 153 per cent in its consolidated net profit at Rs 19.37 crore in the quarter ended June as net revenue rose by 27 per cent at Rs 259 crore.

The company's net profit was Rs 7.66 crore on net revenue of Rs 203 crore in the corresponding quarter of previous fiscal.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBIDTA) for Q1 FY21 rose by 42 per cent at Rs 28 crore and cash profit by 44 per cent at Rs 28 crore.

Profit before tax (PBT) stood at Rs 19.56 crore, recording a growth of 155 per cent from Rs 8 crore in the corresponding quarter of previous fiscal.

The active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) business maintained its lead contributing 64 per cent to the company's topline. API sales revenue during the quarter grew by 44 per cent at Rs 162 crore.

Within the API segment, finished APIs clocked a growth of 43 per cent at Rs 143 crore and API intermediates grew by 91 per cent at Rs 12 crores. New API molecules added Rs 7.5 crore to the company's top line.

"API business of the company is doing exceedingly well and is gaining greater traction in the international markets, thanks to highest standards of quality maintained by the company for latest innovative products," said Chairman and Managing Director Sushil Suri.

Encouraged by the unfulfilled demand of existing products and keeping in mind the strong pipeline of APIs under development which are going generic over the next five to six years, the company has envisioned an expansion plan for existing and new products at its Baddi plant in Himachal Pradesh.

The company's board of directors has approved an expansion plan involving an outlay of Rs 178 crore. The plan has already been cleared by the state government under a single-window clearance scheme.

This will add 2,000 million tonnes per annum of APIs manufacturing capacity in addition to 3,000 million tonnes per annum capacity already installed. Besides, it will generate additional employment for about 700 people.

Morepen said the additional capacities will facilitate the production of over 40 new and existing bulk drugs covering various therapeutic categories including anti-diabetic, anti-hypertensives, anti-allergic, anti-asthmatic, cholesterol reducers, anti-viral, anti-coagulants, anti-psychotic and anti-depressants.

The expanded capacity is likely to commence commercial production over the next three years. The company proposes to fund the expansion primarily through internal accruals.

( With inputs from ANI )