Morepen Laboratories Ltd has shown a healthy turnaround in its growth and turnover for the quarter ended March 31, 2004. The results, guided by higher bulk drugs and finished dosage exports, have led to cash accruals, though small, that have in turn helped the company improve its production and turnover. The internal reorganization over the past twelve months has also helped the company to stage a turnaround on financial front in the said quarter.

The Parwanoo-based pharma major has posted a 41 per cent quarter on quarter growth in its gross revenue and 276 per cent growth in PBDITA (profit before depreciation, interest, tax and amortizations). The gross revenue for the quarter stood at Rs. 31.83 crore. The company has become cash positive and have achieved internal cash accruals of Rs.6.21 crores before interest. After making an interest provision of Rs. 3.43 crore, the cash profit for the period stood at Rs. 2.78 crore.

The high value API exports formed 81 per cent of the total sales during the quarter as against 68 per cent in the immediately preceding quarter. In absolute terms, the API exports went up from Rs.15.47 crore to Rs.25.67 crore, representing a 66 per cent Q-o-Q growth.

Share of Loratadine, Morepen's principal drug for which the company recently received a fresh USFDA approval, in the total turnover has gone up from Rs. 14.60 crore to Rs. 24.46 crore, registering a growth of 68 per cent in the aforesaid period. The company exported 4.9 Tons of Loratadine this quarter as compared to 2.5 tons last quarter, which is almost double the quantity and the highest ever.

The company attributes its improvement in bottom-line to a series of internal re-organization measures including rationalization of staff, which has resulted in a decrease of 24 per cent in the staff cost over the last one year. The company is poised to go back to higher levels of turnover and even higher gross margins with the help of increased API and formulation exports in the current financial year. The impending rationalization of interest and debt through the ongoing financial restructuring through CDR process of RBI in the coming months will further lead to improvisation in financial numbers.

Morepen is all set to seize the Generic revolution in pharma industry, by filing multiple DMF's for new API's and respective ANDA's for finished dosages. Morepen plans to fill the niche as a global pharma contract manufacturing source by offering select finished dosage forms with its ANDAs via contract manufacturing to major global players in regulated markets.