Hikal Ltd, the preferred long-term outsourcing partner for leading global Life Sciences companies, has posted net sales of Rs 85.8 crore as compared to Rs 55.6 crore during the third quarter ended December 2007. Its net profit increased by 64 per cent to Rs 14.8 crore from Rs 9 crore in the corresponding period of last year. The board has declared an interim dividend of 30 per cent.

Hikal's pharmaceutical sales up by 107 per cent to Rs 46.7 crore as compared to Rs 22.5 crore. Commenting on the results, Jai Hiremath, vice-chairman and managing director, said, "The profits in this quarter have registered an impressive growth of 64 per cent, mainly driven by the pharmaceutical business. In order to cater to the contracts we are signing in the pharmaceutical and crop protection business, major capacity additions and project expansions are underway across all our sites. Moving forward, we are expecting significant increase in our contract manufacturing business".

After the Alpharma deal, hikal has recently announced the tie up for supply of active pharmaceutical ingredients with Pfizer Inc., a global leader in pharmaceuticals. Its 100 per cent subsidiary, Acoris Research Ltd, catering to contract research in Pune, is in its final stages of completion and will be operational soon.