Beximco Pharma's profit drops 23pc

Beximco Pharmaceuticals annual profit dropped 23.6 percent in 2007 due to significant price hike of raw materials in the international markets.
The country's leading medicine maker reported that its profit after tax in 2007 amounted to Tk 35.30 crore, down from Tk 47.06 crore in 2006.
Beximco Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Nazmul Hassan said the profit dropped as price of raw materials for most of the pharmaceutical products increased significantly in the global market.
Hassan said prices of raw materials, imported mainly from China and India, have increased by 20 to 100 percent in the last one year.
Bulk drug prices of several vitamins have increased to Tk 3,500 per kg from Tk 1,300 per kg while the cost of Glycerin and Saccharine, the two essential components for producing any syrup and other liquid medicine, has increased sharply, Hassan, also the general secretary of Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceuticals Industries (Bapi), added.
Besides, maximum retail prices of some 109 essential drugs, listed by the government, cannot be increased without approval of the Directorate of Drug Administration.
Hassan said Beximco applied to the government for increasing maximum retail price of some essential drugs to minimize the loss of the company as well as to maintain the quality and standard of its products.
According to its annual financial statement Beximco's profit before tax dropped to Tk 39.97 crore in 2007 from Tk 52.32 crore in 2006.
Company's year on year net sales revenue also declined for the first time in its history to Tk 360 crore in 2007 against Tk 370 crore in 2006.
The cash and cash equivalents of the company also dropped to Tk 8.56 crore by the end of 2007 from Tk 58.10 crore in 2006.
The company has declared a cash dividend of Tk 0.50 per share and stock dividend of one share for every 10 shares and promised its shareholders a better financial performance in 2008 and beyond.
The earning per share also declined to Tk 3.08 from Tk 4.11 in 2006.
Beximco Pharma produces and markets 'branded generics' for almost all diseases from AIDS to cancer, infection to asthma, hypertension to diabetes, for both domestic and international markets.
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