Expect growth to continue going forward: Lincoln Pharma

In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Mahendra Patel, MD of Lincoln Pharmaceuticals spoke about the results and his outlook for the company.Below is the transcript of Mahendra Patel’s interview to Reema Tendulkar and Prashant Nair on CNBC-TV18.Reema: Strong growth seen in the export market, up 77 percent this quarter. Any one-offs and do you believe this growth rate is sustainable?A: It is a sustainable growth because Lincoln Pharmaceuticals has set up widely, for a long-term we have more than 1,500 registrations throughout countries where we are working our business and it is sustainable. Year wise and month wise and every time we got 5-20 products more and we are adding business. So, it is a sustainable business for the export and domestic.Prashant: Do you make active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) or do you make finished products? What do you make?A: No, we are not manufacturing APIs. We are manufacturing formulation.Prashant: Which segment is the largest?A: Pain management is the biggest and the gastro is a big segment and some antibiotics is also a big segment.Reema: A few months back, the Tanzanian regulator had banned the import of some injections, which are used to treat serious bacterial infections. Could you give us an update on that? Does the ban still hold?A: No, for that product it is okay, but regular other business is going on. So it does not affect more on the next month’s business means, after that it does not continue that effect on the business and on the revenue or anything. All the products are going to Tanzania and registrations are intact. So, it was a specific issue of that product, but now it is okay.Prashant: Any of your products fall under the drug price control order in India?A: In India, many products fall under drug price control, but the combination and ratio like that, we can manage drug price control order (DPCO) products and non-DPCO products also. So, the margins we control ourselves.Reema: Did you get impacted on account of any of your products under the drug price control this quarter?A: Not too much impacted, because drug price control is an old act and it has covered many products since a long time and some products have that impact, but the way we are entering some new products and the ratio we are changing, so it is manageable for the marketing and for the revenue.Prashant: Just one last quick point. In exports, out of the exports, how much of what you sell is linked to longish contracts with agencies like the World Health Organisation and how much do you sell in the retail market for example?A: We are doing almost 75-80 percent business of our branded products in the export market. There we have many representatives, many marketing sales force. Institution business, we are not doing in export market.Prashant: You said the numbers are sustainable. What exactly would you say the full year numbers would look like if you could give us a number in the ball park for example revenues for the year?A: The sustainable growth will be there and it will continue like this -- whatever presently we are doing, same method will carry on.