Vimta Labs Ltd (VLL), a leading provider of contract research and testing - clinical, pre-clinical, analytical testing, environmental assessments and clinical diagnostics - is planning to set up three new facilities at Chennai, Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada in the next three months.

According to S P Vasireddi, Chairman and Managing Director of the company, the current facility at Cherlapally near Hyderabad, had saturated and the company was setting up an additional laboratory there. " In addition, we will further expand to three more places. The three facilities will be established with an investment of Rs 4 crore in the next three months," Vasireddi said.

The company would make a further capital investment of Rs 3 to 4 crore during the current fiscal. The investments would come from internal accruals and short-term bank loans. While the Chennai facility would provide contract research and pathological services, the Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada facilities would provide only pathology services. The company had employed 220 scientists and was looking at recruiting a significant number of scientists in the next three months, Vasireddi said.

As outsourcing budgets have grown to about $ 12 billion, so have the Contract Research Organisation. Based on this premise, Vimta Labs plans to emerge as a major CRO in post-2005 when the IPR regime will become a reality. Contract research contributes about 60 % to VLL's revenues at present.

During 2002-03, Vimta Labs achieved a turnover of Rs 19.79 crore and a net profit of Rs 2.07 crore as against Rs 1.31 crore in 2001-02, showing a growth of 63.28 per cent. Net sales increased from 11.12 crore in 2001-02 to Rs 19.67 crore during 2002-03. Other income for the period also increased from Rs 4.13 lakh to Rs 10.19 lakh. The profit is in spite of a higher depreciation rate of 15% adopted during 2002-03 against 10.34 % for the previous year. The company has achieved a compound growth rate of 80 % since 2000 and expects to maintain the same growth rate during the current fiscal.

During 2002-03, the company received export orders worth $1 million and 75% of the job work had been executed. During the current fiscal, Vimta was expecting export orders worth $1.5 million.

The VLL Board, which met on Saturday to take on record the audited financial results, recommended a dividend of 15 % for the year as against the maiden dividend of 11 % in the previous year.

The company which came out with an IPO way back in 1993, however, witnessed a long gestation period. Vimta Labs is looking up since the year 2000.