Strides Arcolab registers 32 pc increase in revenue in Q3

Bangalore, Oct 27 (UNI) Strides Arcolab Limited today reported a consolidated sales turnover of Rs 182.6 crore in the third quarter of the current fiscal, an increase of 32 per cent over last year's achievement of Rs 138.7 crore.

Sequentially, the growth was nine per cent, the company said in a release here, adding that the achievement was the highest revenue base that Strides Arcolab had achieved in any quarter.

The company, however, had an adverse foreign exchange impact of Rs 2.8 crore, besides enhancing R and D expenditure over income due to accelerated clinical and regulatory strategy. The company's US operations slowed down due to plant upgrades and this had resulted in a loss of Rs 4.5 crore, the release said.

On a positive note, the company said the Mexican operations turned around smartly in the quarter, consequent to the launch of its first generic approval for Pravastatin, a cholesterol lowering drug.

Commenting on the results, company Vice-Chairman and Group CEO Arun Kumar said ''the financial performance of Q3 FY06 shows a significant upswing in our core businesses, while challenges identified in the earlier guidance are being addressed.'' Capacity constraints have been addressed and the company had geared up significantly to meet the increasing demand from its Oral Dosage Form facilities.

The Board approved acquisition of 33 per cent residual interest in Strides Latina from its local partners at US Dollar 66.67 million. This would amount to a maximum payment of Dollar 17 million in cash over three years and the balance in fully convertible bonds that would convert at Rs 400 per share at the end of five years, subject to shareholders' and other regulatory approvals.

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