Jubilant makes solid start to fiscal 2010
pharmafile | July 20, 2009 | News story | Manufacturing and Production, Research and Development | Jubilant
Indian contract research and manufacturing services company Jubilant Organosys shrugged off the effects of the economic downturn with a buoyant set of first-quarter results.
The healthy start to fiscal 2010 comes at a time when other outsourcing specialists are feeling the pinch, and is an indication of Jubilant's success in securing high-level, strategic collaborations with top-tier pharmaceutical clients.
Since the start of the year the company has signed broad-ranging R&D alliances with Lilly and AstraZeneca, adding to a similar deal with Amgen a year ago.
Revenues in Jubilant's Pharma & Life Sciences Products and Services division, which includes Jubilant's contract research and manufacturing businesses, were up 18% to 6.2 billion rupees.
The star of the division in terms of revenue growth was Jubilant's contract manufacturing organisation (CMO), whose sales rose nearly 60% to 1.3 billion rupees (£16.5 million) year-on-year. Active pharmaceutical ingredient sales dipped 7% slightly while contract research services rose 20% to 610 million rupees.
The CMO business benefited from the approval and launch of some compounds that had been in phase III development as well as a new contract with Johnson & Johnson. However, operating margins slipped a little (to 18.9% from 21% a year ago) as a result of some delays in delivering certain bulk drugs and injectables.
Despite the increase in revenues operating profit was down slightly to 1.7 billion rupees, in part because of rising raw material costs but also resulting from a 46% increase in staff costs.
Jubilant said it was confident of meeting its full year forecasts of a 15% increase in revenues and margins of 20%.
"Going forward, improved capacity utilisation, better synergies from integration and new collaborations with global pharmaceutical companies will deliver expected growth and improvement in margins," said the firm's co-chairmen Hari and Shyam Bhartia in a statement.
Meanwhile, Jubilant's other main business – Industrial and Performance Products – fared less well with an 8% decline in revenues to 2.8 billion rupees. The company said a planned sale of the unit, which makes products such as fertilisers, adhesives, animal feeds and agrochemicals, was proceeding on track.
Related Content
Pharma manufacturing news in brief
Raw material issues disrupting pharma production in Pakistan, Jubilant opens a new plant in Gujarat, …
Contract research news in brief
Quintiles helps fund Alzheimer’s drug programme, Toxikon starts building a new facility, plus updates from …
Janssen to collaborate with Jubilant on neuroscience targets
Janssen is to team up with Indian pharma services company Jubilant Life Sciences on neuroscience …
