Torrent Pharma posts net profit of Rs 314 cr for March quarter; revenue up 5 to Rs 1,946 cr

New Delhi: Drug firm Torrent Pharmaceuticals on Tuesday reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 314 crore for the quarter ended 31 March1, mainly on account of cost control and productivity improvements.

The company had posted a net loss of Rs 152 crore for the corresponding period of the previous financial year, Torrent Pharma said in a filing to the BSE.

Its consolidated revenue from operations stood at Rs 1,946 crore for the quarter under consideration as against Rs 1,856 crore for the corresponding period a year ago, it added.

For the financial year ended March this year, the net profit of the company was at Rs 1,025 crore. It was Rs 436 crore for the previous fiscal year, Torrent Pharma said.

The company posted Rs 7,939 crore as revenue from operations for the fiscal year ended March 2020. It was Rs 7,673 crore for the year-ago fiscal year, it added.

"Our fourth-quarter margins continued to benefit largely from the synergies of the acquired Unichem portfolio, incremental productivity and cost control. Our focus continues to remain on India, US, Brazil and Germany as our core markets," Torrent Pharmaceuticals Executive Chairman Samir Mehta said.

For the US, remediation work at Dahej and Indrad has progressed as per plan and the company expects Germany growth to revive in 2020-21, he added.

During these unprecedented times of the pandemic, Torrent Pharma recognises that it has an important role to play in the healthcare ecosystem and has proactively taken actions to ensure product availability and business continuity, Mehta said.

In the fourth quarter, the company announced an interim dividend for 2019-20 of Rs 32 per equity share (including Rs 15 per equity share as a special dividend), which was paid in March 2020. In view of the same, the Board has not considered any further dividends for 2019-20, the filing said.

Shares of Torrent Pharmaceuticals closed at Rs 2,576.65 per scrip on the BSE, down 0.89 percent from its previous close.