Torrent Pharmaceuticals, a Rs 1585 crore plus pharma company from Ahmedabad, has achieved significant growth in bottomline during the third quarter ended December 2009 mainly on account of higher sales volumes and lower foreign exchange losses. The consolidated net profit moved up by 63.6 per cent to Rs 82.95 crore from Rs 50.70 crore in the corresponding quarter of last year. Its net sales, however, improved only by 10.3 per cent to Rs 464.20 crore from Rs 420.88 crore. The company's domestic formulation business grew by 15 per cent to Rs 183 crore and the same outside India moved up by 10 per cent to Rs 246 crore. Its EBDITA increased by 47.6 per cent to Rs 111.73 crore from Rs 75.71 crore.

Operations in Brazil registered quarterly sales growth of 32 per cent, with revenues growing from Rs 67 crore to Rs 89 crore. US sales went up sharply to Rs 27 crore from Rs 8 crore in the previous period. The sales in Germany declined by 16 per cent to Rs 66 crore. The sales in Europe (excluding German -based Heumann), Rest of the World and Russia & CIS declined by 8 per cent to Rs 64 crore.

For the nine months ended December 2009, Torrent's net sales increased by 16.1 per cent to Rs 1384.51 crore from Rs 1192.57 crore in the similar period of last year. Sales outside India moved up by 16 per cent to Rs 705 crore Its net profit for the nine months period increased by 16 per cent to Rs 172.06 crore from Rs 148.28 crore.

Torrent has filed 40 ANDAs and 17 DMFs with US FDA as part of its US operations, of which approvals for 13 ANDAs have been received till December end. Significant investment in product development is being made to support the build-up of US, Brazil and European operations. The total R&D expenditure worked out to 6.3 per cent of consolidated net sales as compared to 6.5 per cent in the the corresponding period of last year.

The company launched a new specialty division 'Sensa' in the domestic formulation business. Sensa focuses exclusively on the fast growing gynaecology market. The company is now planning to set up a new formulation and bulk drug manufacturing unit in Dahez SEZ, South Gujarat to meet the growing needs of regulated markets. Construction activity for a new formulation manufacturing unit at Sikkim is progressing well, in line with the plans. The expansion of API and formulation capacities at Chatral initiated earlier, are also progressing satisfactorily. The company incorporated a new subsidiary Torrent Pharma Canada Inc. in Canada during November 2009.