Ajanta Pharma Q4 PAT down 17% at Rs 94 cr

Ajanta Pharma Managing Director Yogesh Agrawal said:"During the quarter, we have performed well in the Africa branded generic space. Whereas branded generic business in India and Asia performed below our expectations."

There was a lot of movement in the Africa institution business that saw de-growth of 22 percent which has impacted the overall quarter performance, he added.

"Considering the challenging pricing environment in the US, we have performed much better relative to our competitors who have seen much sharper price erosion," Agrawal said.

For 2017-18, the company said, its PAT was at Rs 468.64 crore as compared to Rs 506.83 crore in 2016-17.

Revenue from operations was at Rs 2,130.86 crore as against Rs 2,001.64 crore in 2016-17, a growth of 6.46 percent.

"Going forward, we will continue to focus on the branded generic business in India and emerging markets," Agrawal said.

The company said in India, its sales rose 6 percent at Rs 148 crore in the fourth quarter, whereas for the full year the same were at Rs 629 crore at a growth of 2 percent.

Export sales in March quarter were at Rs 348 crore, up 10 percent. For the full year, exports were at 1,434 crore, posting a growth of 9 percent.