Torrent Pharma gets shareholder nod to raise up to Rs 5,000 crore

Torrent Pharmaceuticals on Monday said it has received shareholders' nod to raise up to Rs 5,000 crore through various instruments, including qualified institutional placement (QIP).

In a filing to the BSE, the company said around 99.299 per cent votes were cast in favour of "issuance of equity shares including convertible bonds/debentures through QIP and/or depository receipts or any other modes for an amount not exceeding Rs 5,000 crore."

The approval of the shareholders was sought by way of special resolution through a postal ballot, the filing said.

Torrent Pharma Q3 result: PBT rises 16% to Rs 319 crore, revenue declines

Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd (TPL) saw its consolidated profit before tax (PBT) rise by 16 per cent on a year-on-year (YoY) basis to Rs 319 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2019, as per its BSE filing on Monday.

In the corresponding Q3 of previous fiscal (2018-19), consolidated PBT for TPL stood at Rs 275 crore. The company saw its consolidated total revenue fall by 1.7 per cent on a YoY basis to Rs 2019 crore in Q3 of FY20 as against Rs 2054 crore recorded in Q3 of FY19.

Ranked eighth in Indian Pharmaceuticals Market (IPM) and amongst top five in the therapeutics segments of cardiovascular (CV), central nervous system (CNS), gastro-intestinal (GI), and vitamins minerals nutritionals (VMN), TPL is a specialty-focused company with 73 per cent of its revenue from chronic & sub-chronic therapies. With presence in 40 countries, TPL is ranked number one amongst the Indian pharma companies in Brazil, Germany and Philippines.

Region-wise, TPL's India business grew by five per cent YoY to Rs 871 crore in the third quarter ended December 31, 2019. After adjusting for one off item, the growth stood at 8.5 per cent, the company stated. TPL added that the one off pertained to integration of Torrent and Unichem stockist in Q3 FY19 and the base impact of products discontinued in the last year.

Its US revenues took a beating with a 22 per cent fall in Q3 of FY20 at Rs 381 crore even as three abbreviated new drug applications (ANDAs) were filed during the quarter, taking the tally to 45 ANDAs pending approval and six tentative approvals being received.

TPL's Germany revenues too fell by 18 per cent on a YoY basis in Q3 of FY20 at Rs 219 crore while that for Brazil grew by 12 per cent YoY to Rs 189 crore. The company's research and development (R&D) spending stood at Rs 110 crore in Q3 FY20 against Rs 135 crore in Q3 FY19.

A Rs 7600 crore flagship company of Torrent Group, Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd. has eight manufacturing facilities, including seven in India and one in the US, of which five are USFDA approved.

Torrent Pharma rebounds 9% from day's low on heavy volumes

Shares of Torrent Pharmaceuticals on Thursday rebounded around 9 per cent from the day’s low on the BSE as the company said the warning letter (WL) for Indrad facility will not have an impact of disruption of supplies or the existing revenues from operations of this facility.

The stock ended at Rs 1,690.10 apiece on the BSE, up around 1.50 per cent. During the day, shares of the drug maker slipped to Rs 1,555 after the company on Wednesday announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) has issued a warning letter to its Indrad (Gujarat) API and formulations facility.

“This action follows the earlier intimation received from US FDA in August 2019, wherein the agency had classified its inspection as "Official Action Indicated" (OAI)”, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Indrad is an important facility for Torrent Pharma, as it contributes around 80 per cent to its US sales. Currently, total of 34 products are pending for approvals. Analysts at Reliance Securities expect new product approvals will be impacted in future until the plant gets regulatory clearance.

“Torrent Pharma is a relatively safer play in current scenario due to higher revenue contribution from domestic business, while lower exposure to US offers comparatively better earnings visibility. We have already factored in US FDA pending issues at Dahej and Indrad facilities into our model in 1QFY20 only. Looking ahead, the Management sees strong growth across geographies except the US,” the brokerage firm said in an event update and maintains ‘hold’ rating on the stock.

Torrent Pharma Q1 net up 33% to Rs 216 cr as thrust on Unichem biz pays off

Efforts to improve its profitability, especially for that of the acquired domestic portfolio of Unichem has reaped results for the Ahmedabad-based Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd (TPL) in the first quarter of financial year 2019-20. The drug maker's consolidated net profit for the first quarter ended June 30, 2019 jumped 33 per cent to stand at Rs 216 crore as against Rs 163 crore for the corresponding period last year.

TPL, which is among the top five in the Indian Pharmaceuticals Market (IPM) for the therapeutics segment of Cardiovascular (CV), Central Nervous System (CNS), Gastro-intestinal (GI), and Vitamins Minerals Nutritionals (VMN), saw its consolidated revenue rise by 7.5 per cent to stand at Rs 2,042 crore for Q1 of financial year 2019-20.

Among the various markets, while its India business grew by nine per cent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 907 crore in the first quarter, after a base impact of discontinued products in the previous year of two per cent, TPL's US revenues were up by 13 per cent to Rs 376 crore.

After an initial struggle, Torrent Pharmaceuticals has managed to improve the profitability of Unichem, which it acquired in December 2017, from 18 per cent to more than 30 per cent for the entire fiscal of 2018-19. This is in line with the company’s domestic margins. Analysts have pointed out that the profitability in its annual results earlier was the result of the company’s efforts towards rationalisation — of both manpower and tail-end or overlapping brands.

The first quarter of FY20 saw three abbreviated new drug applications (ANDAs) being filed, with total 34 ANDAs pending approval and 11 tentative approvals being received as on June 30, 2019. TPL's revenues from other markets like Brazil and Germany grew by four per cent and three per cent to stand at Rs 262 crore and Rs 174 crore in Q1 of FY20, respectively.

The company spent Rs 136 crore in R&D in Q1 of FY20 as against Rs 128 crore in Q1 of FY19. TPL continues to be focused on its specialty driven business, productivity improvement, brand building, maintaining high quality manufacturing practices and investments into R&D for a robust future pipeline, the company stated on Tuesday.

A specialty focused company with 75 per cent of its revenue from chronic & sub-chronic therapies, TPL has presence in 40 countries and ranked No. 1 amongst the Indian pharma Companies in Brazil, Germany and Philippines.

TPL has eight manufacturing facilities including seven in India and one in the US, of which five are USFDA approved

Torrent Pharma recalls 1.7 mn bottles of BP drug from US over quality norms

Drug firm Torrent Pharmaceuticals Inc is recalling over 1.78 million bottles of hypertension treatment tablets from the US and Puerto Rico on account of deviations from current good manufacturing norms, according to a report of the US health regulator.

The US-based arm of Torrent Pharmaceuticals is recalling 133,992 bottles of Losartan Potassium tablets USP in the strength of 25 mg manufactured by the parent company at its Mehsana facility, the Enforcement Report of the USFDA said.

The company is also recalling 476,340 bottles of Losartan Potassium tablets USP, 50 mg from these markets, the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) said.

Torrent Pharmaceuticals Inc is recalling 121,668 bottles of Losartan Potassium tablets USP, 100 mg from America and Puerto Rico, it added.

The company is also recalling multiple lots of Losartan Potassium / Hydrochlorothiazide tablets USP 50mg/12.5mg.

In addition, 172,296 bottles of Losartan Potassium / Hydrochlorothiazide tablets, USP 100mg/12.5mg are being recalled, it added.

Torrent Pharmaceuticals Inc is also recalling 173,760 bottles of these tablets in the strength of 100mg/25mg, the enforcement report said.

All the ongoing voluntary recalls of the hypertension treatment drug are class II recalls, it added.

The reason for the recalls is "CGMP Deviations: FDA lab confirmed presence of an impurity, N-Methylnitrosobutyric acid (NMBA) in the finished product above the interim acceptable daily intake level of 9.82 parts per million", the report said.

CGMP refers to the Current Good Manufacturing Practice regulations enforced by the USFDA.

According to the USFDA, a class II recall is initiated in a situation "in which use of, or exposure to, a violative product may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences or where the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote".