Novartis Q2 Net down 69 pc; transfers animal health biz

Drug firm Novartis India today registered 69.14 per cent decline in net profit at Rs 14.04 crore for the second quarter ended September 30.
The company had posted a net profit of Rs 45.5 crore during the same period of previous fiscal.
Net sales, however, rose to Rs 227.83 crore for the second quarter, as against Rs 209.18 crore for the same period of previous fiscal, Novartis India said in a BSE filing.
The company said its board approved the transfer of the Animal Health Division as a going concern by way of a slump sale to Elanco India Pvt Ltd, an affiliate of Eli Lilly, for a consideration of Rs 86.68 crore on or before July 22, 2015.

As part of its global portfolio transformation, Novartis AG had agreed on April 22, 2014 to divest its global Animal Health business to Eli Lilly and Company, USA.
Elaborating on the issue with the National Pharmaceuticals Pricing Authority (NPPA), the company said it has filed a writ petition on May 8 in the Delhi Hight Court challenging the move of the NPPA to include Voveran tablets under the Drug Price Control Order 2013.

The Delhi High Court has issued a notice to the NPPA on May 16 directing it to file its response, it added.
During the pendency of the writ petition, NPPA issued a show cause notice on September 24 to the company alleging over charge on the sales of Voveran 50 GE tablets, to which the company responded, Novartis said.

"The company has now received a demand notice from the NPPA on October 31 directing that Rs 28.18 crore be paid by November 15, 2014. This demand is being contested following due process of law," it added.
Novartis shares today closed at Rs 679.60 apiece on the BSE, down 4.86 per cent from their previous close.