Novartis India, a Rs 525-crore MNC in India, suffered setback during the first quarter ended June 2006 on account of lower sales. The company's net profit declined by 31 per cent to Rs 25.74 crore from Rs 37.31 crore in the corresponding period of last year. Its net sales declined by 12.4 per cent to Rs 140.28 crore from Rs 160.14 crore. The sales of pharmaceutical declined to Rs 101 crore from Rs 116 crore and that of generics to Rs 11.21 crore from Rs 15.21 crore. OTC sales remained stagnant at Rs 21 crore during the quarter.

With the fall in profits, the earning per share came down to Rs 8.05 from Rs 11.67. The company sold its rifampicin bulk drug business with its facility situated at Mahad during last period for a total consideration of Rs 2.56 crore. This business formed part of company's generics business segment.

The company achieved net sales of Rs 525.92 crore during the year ended March 2006 and earned a net profit of Rs 148.92 crore. During the year, its pharmaceuticals sales reached at Rs 364.27 crore, generics sales at Rs 55.16 crore and OTC sales at Rs 72.07 crore.