The sales of all the five public sector drug companies has increased by almost 112 per cent during the year ended March 2009 as compared to the sales recorded in 2006-07 with the support of the government's various rehabilitation programmes, according to a latest report from Department of Pharmaceuticals.

The report, which has the updated information till March 2009, claims that the 5 PSUs, Indian Drugs & Pharmaceuticals Limited (IDPL), Hindustan Antibiotics Limited (HAL), Bengal Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Limited (BCPL), Rajasthan Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Ltd (RDPL), Karnataka Antibiotics & Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (KAPL), made a collective revenue of Rs 612.42 crore in the financial year 2008-09. Their gross revenue was Rs 289.14 crore in 2006-07.

The production of medicines under the CPSUs has increased from Rs 340.24 crore in 2006-07 to Rs 641.79 crore during 2008-09. However, the growth in the financial year 2008-09 was far less compared to the performance in the financial year 2007-08, reveals the statistics.

The CPSUs has recorded a sales turnover of Rs 507.77 crore in 2007-08, marking a 75 per cent growth when compared to the performance in the previous fiscal. The growth in the financial year 2008-09 was just 20 per cent.

The BCPL and IDPL are the front runners in bettering their performances both in production and in sales in the last financial year when compared to the previous fiscal. BCPL recorded a 66 percent growth in sales at Rs 85 crore in 2008-09 as against a sale of Rs 51.14 crore in the previous fiscal. IDPL, which is currently in an expansion mode, has increased its sales turnover to around 50 per cent in the last financial year (Rs 85.14 crore) while its sales in 2007-08 was Rs 56.70 crore. The sales turnover of IDPL grew almost 440 per cent in the last two fiscals, it is learnt.

The HAL and KAPL too recorded improvement in sales turnover, of around 28 per cent and 14 per cent respectively in 2008-09. The sales turnover of HAL stood at Rs 141.08 crore in the fiscal when compared to the figure of Rs 109.48 crore in the previous year. KAPL, in the latest figures, has a sales turnover of Rs 224 crore as against Rs 196.45 crore reported in FY 2007-08.

However, not all the five companies have performed well in the last fiscal. The turnover of RDPL has decreased by 18 per cent to Rs 77 crore in 2008-09 from a sales figure of Rs 94 crore in the previous fiscal. "The company manufactures tablets, capsules, liquid orals and injectables and has been making profits for the last 10 years and the performance of RDPL has further improved especially on account of Purchase Preference Policy accorded by the Department," says the report of the department. IDPL holds 51 per cent of the equity shares while Rajasthan Industrial Development and Investment Corporation (RIICO) holds 49 per cent of the company.

Further, the government is providing more supports to these companies to perform better with expanded facilities, added the officials. The Centre will invest Rs 7.10 crore in KAPL for upgrading its manufacturing facilities conforming to WHO-GMP standards and setting up a new WHO-GMP compliant cephalosporin plant. Earlier, the government has approved the de-linking of KAPL from HAL and transfer of shareholding of HAL in KAPL to the central government to enable the company to take up expansion and modernization projects with bank finance.

The upgradation of BCPL's three manufacturing plants, two in West Bengal and one in UP, to comply with the revised Schedule M and WHO GMP standards are under way and will be completed within next two years, says the department. A new Cephalesporin plant with WHO GMP standards at IDPL is also under construction.