|
PFIZER INDIA : 23% Sales growth boosted margins
June 28, 2006
Pfizer has declared its second quarter results. The company registerd a net profit of Rs 35.9 crore as against Rs 15.5 crore in the same period of last year. Its net sales are up at Rs 167.1 crore from Rs 135 crore.
MD of Pfizer, Kewal Handa attributes the boost in margins to 23% sales growth that the company has seen. Margins have improved to 30% from 23%, he says. Also, he says the company's three new launches have contributed Rs 5 crore to sales.
Excerpts from CNBC – TV18's exclusive interview with Kewal Handa:
Q: Take us through the margin pictures and what has been the kicker there?
A : I guess the sales growth has been the leverage for the increase in the margin. We had a very strong growth of 23%. This strong growth should be seen from the lights that in the previous year quarter, we had VAT issues, which were absent in this year's quarter.
So realistically, this growth should be discounted by at least 8 – 10%. This strong growth really shows in the margin. The margin improvement, PBT, was 23.4%, which has gone up to 30.5%. I think that is pretty well and we are pretty leveraged on sales.
Pfizer |
-Launched Viagra, Lyrica and Caduet at premium pricing
-Management guided for double-digit topline growth for 2006
-Targets EBITDA margin expansion of about 200bp - 300bp |
Q: Could you break up your sales from pharmaceutical business, animal health care business, and service side?
A: We had a sales growth in all the segments. In the pharmaceutical segment we had a very good growth of 25.7% and in consumer health we had about 25%, while in animal health we had about 7% growth.
Q: Tell us where does your margin stand in percentage terms? Do you see a further expansion likely over the next couple of quarters?
A: In terms of a percentage points, our margin has seen an improvement of almost 30%.
Q: How have your new launches, Viagra, Lyrica and Caudet performed in terms of volumes ? What is the kind of market share you are looking at on these launches, going forward?
A: Lyrica has done pretty well in the last four months and the contribution from all these three launches are roughly about Rs 5 crore.
Q: What is the timeline for the divestment plans for Gelusil, Benadryl, Listerine and two Pfizer plants at Hyderabad and Chandigarh?
A: We have just heard the news that Pfizer is divesting its consumer healthcare business to Johnson & Johnson. We are still evaluating its implication in India. I would be in a position to comment on this, when we have all the details.
Q: Is the decision on the two plants that you have at Hyderabad and Chandigarh likely to be taken in sometime?
A: Hyderabad plant's sales have already been booked into this quarter's profits. Therefore, the net profit growth proportionately is much higher than the profit before tax. Hyderabad plant's Rs 12.21 crore of sales has already been booked in this quarter.
Going forward, the Chandigarh plant is all ready for disposal and its being evaluated right now.
Q: How many new launches are you looking at for this financial year?
A: We have launched three products. We would like to consolidate now and grow in all our in-lined products as well as these three new products.
|
Press Releases
