Dr Reddy's boosted by acquisitions

Leading Indian drugmaker Dr Reddy's Laboratories says that its annual revenues have passed the $500.0 million mark for the first time, driven by acquisitions and diversified growth across key geographical regions.

For the fiscal year to March 31, 2006, the group's total revenues grew 25% to 24.3 billion rupees ($527.3 million), while net profit leapt to 1.63 billion rupees, compared with 211.0 million rupees the previous year, which translates into diluted earnings per share of 21.24 rupees versus 2.76 rupees the prior year.

Revenues from the branded formulations business increased 27% to 10.0 billion rupees, while those from Dr Reddy's active pharmaceutical ingredients operations rose 19% to 8.2 billion rupees, driven primarily by sales of terbinafine, montelukast and sertraline.