Hikal's profit after tax rises 42.8% to Rs 40 crore in December quarter

Pharmaceuticals, crop protection and specialty chemicals company Hikal on Thursday reported a 42.85 per cent rise to Rs 40 crore in consolidated profit after tax (PAT) during the quarter ended December 31, 2020.

Its PAT stood at Rs 28 crore during the corresponding period of 2019-20, Hikal said in a statement.

The company's total revenue during October-December 2020 grew 14.60 per cent to Rs 463 crore, compared with Rs 404 crore in the year-ago period.

Hikal Chairman and Managing Director Jai Hiremath said, "We have achieved the highest ever quarterly revenue and net profit as a company. After facing several challenges through the pandemic both our businesses are now back on track."

He added that the crop protection business has grown significantly by 25 per cent for the quarter on the growth of new products and higher volumes of existing products. "We have a healthy pipeline of new projects in the business and expect to commercialize several products soon."

Hikal's pharmaceutical division sales were up by 8 per cent for the quarter, and both the generics and contract manufacturing businesses continued to do well as the company expand its product portfolio and geographic diversification, he noted.

"We have received several new inquiries from global customers looking to diversify their supply chain and are confident that the division will continue to do well over the next several quarters," he added.

Hiremath said the company continues to generate positive free cash flows as a result of increased sales and margins. "We expect to continue this momentum as we go forward. Our capex plans are on track and we are expediting the execution to meet the increased demand of our customers.