Aventis Pharma, a leading MNC in India, has posted lower net profit of Rs.191.20 crore during the year ended December 2011 as against Rs.230.70 crore in the previous year, registering a fall of 17.1 per cent. The lower profit is due to acquisition cost of Universal Medicare business and lower interest income. Its net sales, however, moved up by 13.3 per cent to Rs.1,230 crore from Rs.1,085 crore. Its domestic sales improved by 15.1 per cent to Rs.1,002 crore from Rs.870.90 crore and exports by 6.2 per cent to Rs.227.3 crore from Rs.214.1 crore.

The company management recommended handsome final dividend of 290 per cent (Rs.29 per share of Rs.10 each). Earlier, it paid interim dividend of 40 per cent making a total dividend of 330 per cent for the year 2011.

The EBDITA jumped by 23 per cent to Rs.315.5 crore from Rs.256.6 crore. Its earnings per share worked out to Rs.83.13 as compared to Rs.100.30 in the last year. As against the equity capital of Rs.23 crore, its reserves and surplus improved to Rs.1,078 crore from Rs.975 crore in the last year.

During August 2011, Aventis entered into a definitive agreement with Universal Medicare Pvt Ltd to acquire its business of marketing and distribution of branded nutraceutical formulations in India. The transaction was closed in November 2011.