Granules India gains on announcing acquisition of Auctus Pharma

Granules India advanced 3.49% to Rs 180.95 at 10:52 IST on BSE, after the company announced signing of a definite agreement for the acquisition of Auctus Pharma.

The announcement was made on Monday, 4 November 2013, when the stock market remained closed on account of Diwali-Balipratipada.

Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 207.97 points, or 0.98% to 21,031.39

On BSE, 29,485 shares were traded in the counter as against an average daily volume of 10,742 shares in the past two weeks.

The stock hit a high of Rs 186.95 and a low of Rs 178.40 so far during the day. The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 191.20 on 7 November 2012. It hit a 52-week low of Rs 90.15 on 22 March 2013.

The stock outperformed the market over the past one month till 3 November 2013, surging 17.03% compared with the Sensex's 6.72% rise. The scrip had also outperformed the market in past one quarter, advancing 35.54% as against Sensex's 10.83% rise.

The small-cap firm has an equity capital of Rs 20.26 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10.

Granules India, on Monday, 4 November 2013 announced the signing of a definite agreement for the acquisition of Auctus Pharma, a manufacturer of active pharma ingredients (API). The acquisition process is expected to be completed in the next 3 to 6 months.

Auctus has two manufacturing facilities, an API facility at Vishakhapatnam and an intermediates facility at Hyderabad. Auctus' product portfolio includes 12 APIs and intermediates of those APIs in several therapeutic categories such as antihistaminic, antihypertensive, antithrombotic and anticonvulsant. Auctus currently sells its APIs and intermediates in 50 countries. The team and assets from the acquisition will initially operate as a separate division with Granules.

Granules also announced the opening of 10,000 sq ft research and development (R&D) facility in Hyderabad. The new R&D will focus on full scale generic API development and supplement the company's existing R&D facility in Pune which focuses on sustainable technology development.

The acquisition of Auctus fits into our strategy of being a fully integrated manufacturer while diversifying our product portfolio by adding high-value products with significant market demand, said Krishna Prasad, managing director of Granules. Auctus provides Granules with a meaningful API platform with a USFDA-approved site to strengthen our finished dosage division.

The acquisition is one part of our three-prong growth strategy. We remain committed to building on our position as a global leader for our existing products which include Paracetamol, Metformin, Ibuprofen and Guaifenesin. We will continue to strengthen our lead over others by focusing on continuous improvements and capacity enhancements in existing and new products. In addition, our team is eagerly awaiting the commercialization of our third growth driver, Granules OmniChem, a collaboration with Ajinomoto OmniChem, a premier CRAMs manufacturer said Harsha Chigurupati, executive director, Granules India.

Granules India's consolidated net profit soared 87% to Rs 15.11 crore on 51.6% rise in net sales to Rs 266.05 crore in Q2 September 2013 over Q2 September 2012.

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