Novartis Board Nods Hive-Off Of Agri-Business

At the board meeting held here yesterday, the directors of Novartis India approved the spin off of the agribusiness of Novartis India as a separate independent entity in line with the global demerger. Subsequently, the agribusiness company is expected to be merged with that of AstraZeneca.

Meanwhile, higher margins helped pharma and agrochem major Novartis India show a 38.5 per cent jump in net profit to Rs 103.4 crore in 1999-2000. The company's net sales during the year increased 10 per cent to Rs 824.4 crore. The board also cleared the appointment of former Larsen & Toubro chief executive officer S D Kulkarni and International Labour Organisation member Rajen Mehrotra as directors on the board.

 

A company statement said improved profitability during the year was attributable to strong performance of both pharma and crop protection. It was also the result of exceptional one time revenues from the sale of a large portion of the Panoli manufacturing unit .