Novartis India, a Rs 550 crore Mumbai based pharma MNC, has suffered setback during the fourth quarter ended March 2008 on account of drop in generics sales. The net profit declined by 10 per cent to Rs 21.53 crore from Rs 23.87 crore in the corresponding period of last year. Its net sales increased only by 5.4 per cent to Rs 130.56 crore from Rs 123.86 crore. The earning per share also nosedived to Rs 6.74 from Rs 7.47 in the last period.

The board of directors has maintained equity dividend at 200 per cent (Rs 10 per share of Rs 5 each) for the year ended march 2008.

For the full year ended March 2008, the company's net sales increased by 2.1 per cent to Rs 553.45 crore from Rs 542.24 crore in the previous year. Its pharmaceutical sales increased by 1.3 per cent to Rs 386.52 crore from Rs 383.45 crore and that of generics moved up by 6.4 per cent to Rs 46.06 crore from Rs 43.28 crore. However, its OTC sales declined by 1.5 per cent to Rs 78.42 crore from Rs 79.58 crore.