BENGALURU (Reuters) – Indian pharmaceutical firm Jubilant Pharmova reported a narrower fourth-quarter loss on Wednesday, aided by strong demand for drugs that contain radioactive ingredients.
The company’s consolidated net loss narrowed to 586 million rupees ($7 million) in the January to March period, compared with a loss of 979 million rupees a year ago.
Jubilant Pharmova, involved in the manufacturing and supply of radiopharmaceuticals with a network of 46 radio-pharmacies in the U.S., said it is on track to launch new products in this segment in the medium-term.
Sales rose 5% to 17.46 billion rupees in the fourth quarter, lifted by an 18.6% rise in the key radiopharma business, which involves developing medications used to diagnose or treat diseases such as cancer, and made up nearly half of the sales.
Revenue from segments that make copycat drugs and medicines used for allergy immunotherapy rose 0.8% and 14%, respectively, during the quarter.
The drugmaking arm of the polymers-to-pizza Jubilant Bhartia group declared a dividend of 5 rupees per share.
Its shares ended 0.4% higher after results and are up 29.5% so far this year.
($1 = 83.3335 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)
