Mumbai: Ajanta Pharma Ltd, a research and development (R&D)-driven company, with brand focus in the global market, has seen a sharp increase in its export business during the last few quarters.

The last quarter ended March 2002 has seen a growth of 160 per cent over the third quarter ended December 2001 and the December 2001 quarter has seen a growth of 287% over the quarter ended September 2001.

This growth is the result of consistent and continuous efforts of brand registration in different parts of the world. Ajanta Pharma has established its presence in more than 40 countries where its products are available. It has also built excellent marketing infrastructure in these overseas markets.

The company has achieved a turnover of Rs 24.15 crore for the quarter ended 31 March 2002, showing a growth of 80 per cent over the same quarter of the previous year. The growth in the business has mainly come from exports, which is the result of aggressive registration process taken up by the company in different parts of the world.

The operating profit has gone up to Rs 508 lakh from Rs 77 lakh for the same period of the previous year. The interest and depreciation have seen a sharp increase due to large outstanding from joint ventures and new capital expenditure in progress. The profit after tax for the quarter has gone up to Rs 99 lakh as against a loss of Rs 159 lakh for the same period in the previous year.

The focus on branded products both in domestic and international market has resulted in consistent growth in sales and profits during the last four quarters. For the year ended 31 March 2002, the two main business focus of domestic prescription drugs and direct exports have seen a growth of 85 per cent and 21 per cent, respectively, over the previous year.

This has also resulted in the operating margin improvement for the year by 100 bps to 21 per cent over the previous year. However, with the conscious decision of restricting the exposure to joint ventures/subsidiaries, the turnover for the year ended 31 March 2002 has declined to Rs 73.50 crore against Rs 80.62 crore for the previous year.

The sharp increase in interest and depreciation cost has also impacted profit after tax for the year ended March 2002, which stood at Rs 2.04 crore as against Rs 6.42 crore in the previous year. The focus on innovative R&D products and brand exports is expected to accelerate the growth in the coming quarters.