April 22 (PTI): Nicholas Piramal India (NPIL), the second largest pharmaceutical and healthcare company in the domestic market, has registered a growth of 59.2 per cent in net profit at Rs 188.01 crore in the financial year ended March 31, 2004 against Rs 118.11 crore reported in the previous year. It has recommended a 150 per cent dividend at Rs 15 per share.

Income increased to Rs 1,293.3 crore in 2003-04 compared with Rs 1,014.7 crore in the previous fiscal, chairman Ajay Piramal said.

During the fourth quarter ended March, net profit surged 95.7 per cent to Rs 77.53 crore compared with Rs 39.62 crore reported in the previous corresponding quarter. Sales at Rs 432.28 crore marked an increase of 61.8 per cent over Rs 267.19 crore in the year-ago quarter. Earnings per share for 2003-04 stood at Rs 52.1 on a consolidated basis over Rs 30.3 in the previous fiscal.

NPIL plans to launch its Well Spring brand of “path-labs” labs in major cities, besides exploring the possibility of outsourcing pathology works from international hospitals.

Wockhardt net zooms

Wockhardt Ltd has posted a 441.4 per cent jump in its consolidated net profit at Rs 44.4 crore for the first quarter ended March 31, 2004 against Rs 8.2 crore in the corresponding previous quarter.

Sales stood at Rs 288 crore, up 78 per cent over the first quarter of 2003, a release said.

The contribution of international business to the consolidated sales was 61 per cent. This segment grew by 118 per cent, mainly driven by the formulation business, said chairman Habil Khorakiwala.

Glenmark net up 27%

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals has registered a 26.5 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 42 crore for 2003-04 compared with Rs 33.19 crore in the year-ago period. Net sales were up 13.3 per cent at Rs 380.66 crore from Rs 335.89 crore in the previous fiscal, the company said in a release today.

The company had already declared an interim dividend of 65 per cent on equity shares on March 29.

For the fourth quarter ended March, the net profit stood at Rs 12.98 crore as against Rs 9.31 crore year-on-year, while net sales was up 4.6 per cent at Rs 114.33 crore.