Strides Arcolab shares sink on dividend worries

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Shares in drugmaker Strides Arcolab plummeted about 10 percent on Thursday, wiping out early gains following its sale of a unit to Mylan for $1.6 billion, as investors were unhappy with Strides' dividend payout, traders said.

The shares had initially gained as much as 13.2 percent.

The company declared a 20 percent dividend, or 2 rupees per share, for 2012.

Strides' injectables unit Agila Specialties generated $700 million in sales and an operating profit of $86 million in year 2012, Strides said.

The Bangalore-based drugmaker said it planned to spend $700 million to $800 million at pretax level on shareholders.

Valued at $1.1 billion, shares in Strides Arcolab were down 8.5 percent at 902.95 rupees by 9:51 a.m. when the Mumbai market was up 0.55 percent.

 

(Reporting by Kaustubh Kulkarni; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)