Cadila Healthcare's Q4 consolidated net profit falls 22% to Rs 460 cr

A higher interest charge on account of the recent Heinz acquisition saw Cadila Healthcare Limited (Zydus Cadila) post a 22 per cent fall in its consolidated net profit for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2019, to Rs 460.1 crore. Its consolidated net profit in the corresponding period last year was Rs 590.8 crore.

Total consolidated revenues for Q4 of FY19 for Zydus Cadila stood at Rs 3,771.2 crore, up from Rs 3,281.8 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. The consolidated financial results included results of operations of the acquired business of Heinz India Pvt Ltd, for two months.

Cadila Healthcare's US business, which forms 50 per cent of its sales, was flat on a year-on-year (YoY) basis even as it fell by 6 per cent on a quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) basis. Analysts attributed lower market share amidst heightened competition for its key product Lialda in the US for the flat performance even though it achieved $900 million sales for the full year according to company guidance. 

On the other hand, its India business, which constitutes 25 per cent of its sales, was up by a mere 2.1 per cent YoY, which analysts said was due to the restructuring of its business where Cadila Healthcare had rationalised its product portfolio as mentioned by the management in the previous quarter.

During the year, the company also acquired a 51 per cent stake in Dehradun-based Windlas Healthcare Private Limited (WHPL).

On a standalone basis, the company's net profit grew to Rs 262 crore for the quarter ended March 2019, up from Rs 243 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago. Standalone total revenue for the company rose from Rs 1,501 crore in Q4 of FY18 to Rs 1714 crore in Q4FY19.

For the entire fiscal 2018-19, while Cadila Healthcare's consolidated net profit stood grew to Rs 1,849 crore, up from Rs 1,776 crore last year, the company's total consolidated revenue grew to Rs 13,367 crore from Rs 12,068 crore last year. On a standalone basis, its net profit for the full fiscal 2018-19 rose to Rs 1,602 crore from Rs 1,091 crore in the previous year. The total standalone revenues for the year stood at Rs 7,104 crore up from Rs 6031 crore last year. 
 

On Wednesday, Cadila Healthcare's Board of Directors recommended a dividend of Rs 3.50 or 350 per cent per equity share of Re 1 each for the financial year, subject to approval of shareholders in the annual general meeting.

Strengthening its regulatory pipeline, the company filed 29 ANDAs during the year with the US FDA, taking the cumulative filings to 360. The company received 74 ANDA approvals taking the total to 254 product approvals.

During FY 2018-19, Cadila Healthcare entered into a collaborative research agreement with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) - Institute of Microbial Technology (IMTECH)  - to identify new drug candidates for the treatment of drug-resistant infections. 

On Wednesday, the company also stated that it had made progress with its key research molecules, Desidustat, the investigational new drug targetted at treating anemia in Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) patients and Saroglitazar for the treatment of Non-Alcoholic SteatoHepatitis (NASH).

Cadila Healthcare shares traded positive on the stock exchanges on Wednesday at Rs 266.30, up by close to 3 per cent on BSE.Total consolidated revenues for Q4FY19 for Zydus Cadila stood at Rs 3771.2 crore, up from Rs 3281.8 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.