Anu's recorded a 61 per cent rise in net profit for the fiscal fourth quarter ended March 31, 2008, to Rs4.95bn ($1.1bn), up from the Rs3.08bn it earned in the comparable period last year.
Revenues at the Hyderabad-headquartered group skyrocketed some 62 per cent to Rs46.6bn, with sales in key export markets, such as Israel, Italy, Japan, France, US and Singapore, accounting for over 20 per cent of its total turnover.
Anu's recently raised Rs. 802.2bn through sale of 3.82 million shares in an initial public offering (IPO) on the Mumbai stock exchange. The company said that it plans to utilize the proceeds to both diversify and expand its business activities through forward integration.
Specifically, Anu's intends to plans to further its standing in the CRAMS sector by setting up a new production plant at a site in Vishakhapatnam. The firm explained that the facility will be used for the manufacture of pharmaceutical intermediates and active pharmaceutical ingredients (API).
Commenting on the results Babu, said that: "The current set of numbers is consistent with our expectations and from here on our focus will be growth through CRAMS."
He also commented that achieving control over cost structure in today's inflationary environment is one of the biggest challenges for the company right now, especially given the ultra competitive operating environment and rising global crude oil and raw materials prices.
Positive outlook for 2009
According to a report in the Economic Times, Anu's expects to more than double its top line income next year. The firm also forecast that its net profit for the period will grow 58 per cent.
The Times cautioned however that Anu's share price, which is currently trading at 10.6 times its estimated earnings for the fiscal year 2009, is on the high side. This is particularly true given the current valuations of more established mid-sized CRAMS firms like Elder Pharma and Jubilant Organosys, which trade at 9.5 and 12.4 times the level of their predicted fiscal 2009 earnings, respectively.