Strides Pharma posts Rs 43 cr Q4 profit vs Rs 207 cr loss a year ago

Company to launch generic products to aid Covid-19 treatment in India, first being Liposomal Amphotericin B to treat black fungus

Riding on strong sales, Strides Pharma Science has reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 43.74 crore in the fourth quarter of FY20. The company had posted a consolidated net loss of Rs 206.57 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago.

Revenue from operations in the fourth quarter stood at Rs 908.49 crore which was at Rs 618.64 crore in the year-ago period.

“Amidst a tough operating environment, we are pleased to have delivered a healthy performance across all businesses in FY21. Our regulated markets franchise which now contributes 80 per cent of revenues has seen significant ramp up in FY21 growing 21 per cent yoy inline with our outlook,” said R Ananthanarayanan, Managing Director and CEO of the company.

“While in the near term we are witnessing operational challenges owing to a rampant second wave of Covid-19 in India, we believe we have all the strategic pivots in place to continue on our growth momentum and deliver strong financial outcomes for our stakeholders over the next three years,” he added.

During the financial year, there was a cost increase of Rs 129.3 crore from logistics and failure to supply largely owing to Covid-19 related disruptions. While there is going to be a short term impact of Covid-19 in FY22 in the short term, the company is confident of strong mid to long term growth, said the CEO.

Strides is also creating a basket of products and will launch them shortly in the India market to aid Covid-19 treatment and supportive care in anticipation of a third wave. These products will be used directly for Covid treatment or to endorse supportive care for patients. The company has already zeroed in on up to 10 such generic products. The Bengaluru-headquartered company has already rolled out of Liposomal Amphotericin B, which is used to treat black fungus.

In March, its biopharmaceutical division, Stelis Biopharma, had signed its first vaccine supply contract partnering with Russian Direct Investment Fund to supply 200 million doses of the Sputnik V vaccine.

“We expect our large-scale facility to be on track in July in spite of Covid challenges. The vaccine is likely to be in the market by October,” said Ananthanarayanan.

With inputs from PTI