Natco Pharma, a Rs.700 crore plus pharma major from Hyderabad, has suffered heavy setback during the third quarter ended December 2014 and its consolidated net profit declined sharply by 52 per cent to Rs.14.34 crore from Rs.29.88 crore in the corresponding period of last year due to exceptional item of Rs.15.13 crore accounted against settlement pending for legal dispute. Its net sale also declined by one per cent to Rs.184.27 crore from Rs.186.18 crore. With lower net profit and higher equity capital, EPS declined to Rs.4.33 from Rs.9.34 in the last period.

The board of directors has recommended interim dividend of 50 per cent for the year 2014-15. The company acquired the promoters stake in Natco Organics Ltd for consideration other than cash and allotted 1,61,775 equity shares of Natco Pharma of Rs.10 each, at a premium of Rs.1,190 per share. Its share capital increased to Rs.33.243 crore from Rs.33.07 crore.

For the nine months ended December 2014, Natco's consolidated net sales improved by 13.6 per cent to Rs.584 crore from Rs.514 crore in the similar period of last year. However, its net profit remained almost same at Rs.80.17 crore as against Rs.78.72 crore due to above mentioned exceptional items. Its formulations sales improved by 10.1 per cent to Rs.305.81 crore from Rs.277.71 crore and that of bulk chemicals up by 25.6 per cent to Rs.222.97 crore from Rs.177.57 crore.

The company's marketing partner, Mylan Inc., has filed an ANDA for Sorafenib tablets, 200 mg with the US FDA. This product is the generic version of Nexavar, which is indicated for the treatment of certain types of cancers including unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma and advanced renal cell carcinoma. The company and its partner believe that they are the first to have filed a substantially complete ANDA containing a Paragraph IV certification for this product and expects to be eligible for 180 days of marketing exclusivity upon receiving final FDA approval.