BITTER PILL

July 23: Dr Reddy’s Laboratories has reported a drop in revenues at Rs 1,201.82 crore in the first quarter ended June 30 compared with Rs 1,404.94 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

“Our topline has been hit by the rupee appreciation,” said chairman G.V. Prasad.

The company posted a net income of Rs 182.50 crore against Rs 139.76 crore in the year-ago period .

Company CEO and managing director Satish Reddy said the customised pharma solutions segment was affected by raw material constraints.

The other sectors did well with the active pharmaceutical ingredients recording a 13 per cent and the branded, finished dosages a 15 per cent growth. Gross profit margins were up 51 per cent.

“We plan to float private labels in the US in the coming months,” said Reddy.

He said the European generics business was significant despite the pricing pressures. “In Germany, we grew by 27 per cent,” Reddy added.

Siemens net

Siemens Ltd today posted a 44.71 per cent increase in net profit at Rs 81.78 crore for the third quarter ended June 30 against Rs 56.51 crore for the corresponding quarter in the previous year.

Total income rose 73.47 per cent to Rs 1,819.66 crore from Rs 1,048.96 crore in the year-ago period.

The board of directors has approved the appointment of Stephan Schneider as an alternate director to K. Wucherer with effect from today and Armin Bruck as an additional director and a whole-time director from October 1, subject to requisite approvals.

MRPL profit

Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd, a subsidiary of the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, has reported a 71 per cent jump in profits for the quarter ended June 30 on the back of a rise in export earnings.

Profit during the April-June period was up 71 per cent at Rs 369 crore compared with Rs 216 crore in the same period last fiscal. The turnover rose 17 per cent to Rs 8,494 crore from Rs 7,274 crore in the year-ago period.

Exports were up 4 per cent at Rs 2,911 crore.