Jubilant posts unhappy Q3 earnings despite record sales
The Noida firm posted a deficit of INR780m (€12m) for the three months ended December 31 – compared with the INR440m profit it posted in Q3 of fiscal 2011 – citing several currency-related exceptional items as the reason for the swing.
These items took the shine of Jubilant’s quarterly revenues – which increased 25 per cent year-on-year to INR10.8bn - thanks largely to a 43 per cent increase in the contribution from ‘regulated markets’ in Europe, Canada, the US and Japan.
Jubilant’s life science products business – which includes active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), intermediates and generic drugs – generated revenue of INR8.6bn, around 24 per cent higher than in the equivalent period a year ago.
The firm’s services unit – which includes contract manufacturing and drug discovery – brought in INR2.2bn, which is 32 per cent higher than Q3 of fiscal 2011.
Jubilant did not respond to Outsourcing-pharma.com requests for additional information ahead of publication.
According to a company release co-chairs Shyan Bhartia and Hari Bhartia attributed the revenue growth to “good volumes from increased capacities and margin improvement in products and services business.”
Without further information it is hard to identify which ‘increased capacities’ have made the difference. However Jubilant does reveal that new niacinamide and 3canopyridine capacity at its plant in Gujarat “have been well received by customers in the international market.”
Outlook
Capacity also played a central role in Jubilant’s outlook.
Jubilant predicted that revenue generated by its products business would grow as a result of ‘new capacities’ as well as product launches and geographic expansion, with profit growth “backed by improved capacity utilisation, increased vertical integration and favourable prices in certain key products.”
Similarly for its services business Jubilant expects increased capacity utilisation – a key part of its efforts to improve margins – will lead to higher profitability.
