Nicholas Piramal India Ltd. registered an 18.2 per cent growth in net sales and 18.0 per cent growth in operating profits for the first quarter of FY 2003-04. Net sales stood at Rs. 263.7 crore (Rs. 223.2 crore). Operating profit before interest, depreciation and tax grew to Rs. 52.9 crore in QI FY04 from Rs. 44.8 crore for the corresponding quarter in FY 03.

NPIL’s domestic formulations business grew 8.7 per cent against an industry growth rate of 4.1 per cent (ORG-MARG MAT June 2003). This business has outperformed industry and grown market share through a combination of stronger brand management and a specialty focus. The Company has launched 5 new products during the quarter under review. New products launched in the past 24 months have contributed Rs. 20.2 crore to sales.

In QI FY04, NPIL’s CNS (29.8 per cent), Nutritionals (15.1 per cent), Anti-Diabetics (70.7 per cent), Dermatology (21.5 per cent) and NSAIDS (24.9 per cent) have shown significant growth over the corresponding quarter for the previous year.

NPIL’s R&D expenditure has increased to Rs. 5.47 crore for Q I FY04 from Rs. 3.46 crore in the corresponding previous quarter. The Company has incurred capital expenditure of Rs. 12.57 crore mainly on upgradation of manufacturing facilities, including the bulk drugs facilities at Ennore and Hyderabad.

The company had to earmark Rs. 8.18 crore for VRS during the year which is debited in three months under review. The quarterly financials were also impacted by the timing difference of dividend receipts from JVs and Subsidiaries.

The company has also begun implementing a unique CRM suite for its Cardex, Biotek, Extra Care and Lab Diagnostics divisions. This implementation is expected to reduce the time that the sales force spends on routine activities. This will help in building intensive, high quality interactions with doctors. The implementation also covers field service activities for the diagnostics equipment sold by the Lab Diagnostics division. The implementation is expected to be completed in the next 5-6 months. With this implementation, NPIL will not only improve the productivity of its field force but also target it’s marketing spend with greater precision, through the use of an influencer model that is relevant in the pharmaceutical industry.

The Company’s exports have grown to Rs. 21.91 crore in QI FY04 from Rs. 6.43 crore for the same period in the previous year (a growth of 240.7 per cent). This includes sales from the USFDA approved facility acquired on January 1, 2003.

The Company’s chairman Ajay Piramal stated: “It has been a very satisfactory quarter. The Company has been able to sustain both its topline and bottomline growth despite a challenging environment in the pharmaceutical industry. The first quarter’s performance leads me to believe that team Nicholas is on course to deliver yet another year of strong growth both in sales and profits.”

The management expects strong sales growth of 18 per cent, with profits to grow faster than sales, and exports to cross Rs. 1 billion during this fiscal.