Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd has announced its decision to issue bonus shares in the ratio of 1:1 and equity dividend of 130 per cent for the year ended March 2004.

The company improved its financial performance during the year basically due to substantial higher exports and focus on R&D. Its net profit increased by 21.2 per cent to Rs 280.42 crore from Rs 231.41 crore in the previous year.

The company’s sales moved up by 8.8 per cent to Rs 934.74 crore from Rs 858.74 crore in the previous year. Exports sales went up sharply by 48 per cent and touched to Rs 217.65 crore as against Rs 146.95 crore during 2002-03. Exports contributed 21 per cent to its total sales. Export of speciality bulk active increased to Rs153.32 crore from Rs 106.25 crore in the previous year and formulation exports improved by 53.1 per cent to Rs 60.91 crore.

However, the company’s domestic sales remain almost stagnant during the year ended March 2004 at Rs 717.09 crore as compared to Rs 711.79 crore in the previous year. Its other income increased by 79 per cent to Rs 14 crore from 7.82 per cent. The formulation sales remained main contributor, around 60 per cent, of the company’s total turnover during the year ended March 2004. The formulations division sales reached at Rs 564.24 crore as against Rs 576.37 crore.

According to Dilip Shanghvi, managing director of the company, "With a strengthened base both in domestic markets and in internationally approved manufacturing sites, we are ready to move to the next orbital of international operations."

The consolidated results of Sun Pharma and its 95 per cent partnership company Sun Pharmaceutical Industries reported total income of Rs 988.41 crore as against Rs 873.26 crore. The consolidated profit also increased by 21.2 per cent to Rs 89.22 crore.

After receiving necessary approvals from US and Europe, the margins from exports of bulk active improved substantially. Exports of formulations also continuing to show better performance. . The company has received 10 approvals from regulated market for bulk actives and 17 more approvals are in pipeline. The total number of patents submitted pending approval now stands at 248. At the Company's R&D Centre SPARC in Baroda, the progress of projects in NCE in three specific therapy areas; as well as that of platform NDDS technologies is fairly satisfactory.

The new 16 acre R&D campus in Baroda with two lakh sq ft research area is nearing completion and will commence partial operations this year. The Mahakali R&D centre site was commissioned during this year with space for 150 scientists and focus on projects for the US/Europe and certain platform NDDS. The company’s R&D expenses for the year 2003-04 went up to Rs107.68 crore from Rs 65.77 crore.

A new manufacturing site at Jammu was completed with an investment of Rs 17 crore. Like the plant at Dadra commissioned last year, this plant too has been formed as a partnership between Sun Pharma (95 per cent stake) and Sun Pharma Key Employees Benefit trust (5 per cent) stake. The company's first joint venture manufacturing unit in Bangladesh spread over 25,000 sq ft. is close to being commissioned.

The company’s Detroit based subsidiary company Caraco Pharm Labs has posted sales of US$ 45.5 million and a net profit of US$ 11.2 million during the year ended December 2003. Sun Pharma has increased its stake to 63 per cent during January 2004.