Wockhardt Q1 Net At Rs 23 Cr

New brand launches and a strong market position in existing product categories has led to a 17.5 per cent rise in the bottomline of pharmaceutical major Wockhardt in the first quarter of 1998-99.

Net profit jumped to Rs 23.4 crore from Rs 19.8 crore, while operating income rose 32.3 per cent to Rs 153 crore from Rs 115.6 crore the previous year.

"Against a current industry growth of below 13 per cent, Wockhardt has grown at 32 per cent. At a time when most major companies are feeling the effect of recession, Wockhardt continued to show better margins," said Habil Khorakiwala, chairman and managing director, Wockhardt.

A company statement said in the first quarter its macrolide antibiotic Aziwok achieved leadership status in its therapeutic segment. Three new specialised medical nutritional products namely Nurtrocal-DM, Nutriprot, Nutrocal were introduced cater to the specific nutritional needs of patients suffering from diabetes, cancer and tuberculosis.

Other products such as Proxyvon (pain), Spasmo-Proxyvon (anti-spasmodic), Pelox (pefloxacin), Decdan (corticosteroid) and Libotryp and Tryptomer (amitryptylline) maintained their leadership status, the release added.

Gross profit rose to Rs 26.3 crore from Rs 21.4 crore up 22 per cent. The company's other income, however, was down 23 per cent to Rs 2 crore from Rs 2.6 crore. Depreciation costs were up 22.5 per cent to Rs 3.9 crore from Rs 3.1 crore last year. Profit before tax registered an increase of 17 per cent from Rs 20.9 crore to Rs 24.5 crore.