Granules-Omnichem's Vizag plant to be ready by Q2 of 2013

Commercial production to start in 2015, to add Rs 350 cr to top line at full capacity

Hyderabad-based Granules India Limited, today said that its active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and intermediates' manufacturing plant, being set up in a 50:50 joint venture with Belgium-based Ajinomoto Omnichem in Visakhapatnam, will be ready by the second quarter of fiscal 2013.

Granules India had floated the JV in 2011 to establish the CRAMS (contract research and manufacturing services) facility at a special economic zone in Vizag at an investment of Rs 165 crore, with a 3:1 debt-equity component.

“Financial closure for the proposed plant will be achieved shortly. The facility, which will have a reactor capacity of 100,000 litre a year, will start commercial operations by 2015 to cater to all the regulatory markets. The new facility is expected by add revenues of Rs 350 crore once it reaches full capacity,” VVS Murthy, chief financial officer of Granules India, told mediapersons here on Thursday.

The company is also investing Rs 115 crore in expanding its PFI (pharmaceutical formulation intermediates) from the current 9,600 tonne per year to 18,000 tonne, and its finished dosage capacity from six billion doses to 18 billion doses at its Hyderabad facility, according to chief executive Bhaskar Krishna.

“The finished dosage expansion is on track and will be completed by December this year. We will be able to reap additional benefits from this expansion from the fourth quarter of this fiscal,” he said.

Stating that the company, at present, derives 90 per cent of its revenues from exports, including 35% from Western Europe, and 30% from Canada and the US, Krishna said they were looking at AMEA (Asia, Middle East and Africa) and Eastern European markets, though the plans were at an exploratory level.

Net profit zooms 229%

Granules India posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 8.1 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 012, as compared to Rs 2.46 crore in the corresponding quarter last year, reflecting a growth of 229%. Net sales grew 9% to Rs 175.7 crore, as against Rs 161.40 crore during the same period a year ago.

“The significant growth in profitability and top line was on account of volume growth and operational excellence programmes to control costs,” Murthy said, adding that the company expected a better second-half performance as its expansion projects were nearing completion.