Wockhardt to repay Rs 200 crore in FCCBs; Q1 net jumps 95%

Mumbai: The city-based Wockhardt, which today reported 95 per cent jump in net profit in the June quarter, said it would repay the remaining Rs 200-crore of its outstanding foreign currency debt within this month itself.

The company reported a massive 95 per cent jump in consolidated net profit at Rs 378 crore in Q1 of this fiscal, up from Rs 194 crore reported in the April-June period the previous fiscal.

"We have recently concluded the divestment of our nutrition business to Danone and received Rs 1,280 crore. We plan to repay Rs 200 crore to our foreign currency bond (FCCBs) holders this month itself and will exit corporate debt restructuring (CDR)," Wockhardt chairman Habil Khorakiwala told reporters here.

He said the bond will be paid back with 29 per cent premium.

Wockhardt restructured its Rs 3,400-crore debt following the global downturn. It subsequently defaulted on FCCBs to the tune of $110 million in 2009, after which, the bondholders dragged it to the Bombay High Court.

The company also plans to repay loans worth Rs 1,300 crore to banks which it had restructured, Khorakiwala said, adding the company has Rs 900 crore cash in hand currently.

"The repayments will significantly improve the balance sheet position for the company and our net debt to equity ratio now stands below one," he said.

Wockhardt said its sales posted strong growth of 35.3 per cent to Rs 1,426 crore during the first June quarter up from Rs 1,053 crore, driven by strong sales in the US and European markets, contributing 71 per cent of consolidated revenues.

"The growth in bottomline is combination of product portfolio changing and improvement in US business," he added.

The Ebidta stood at Rs 502 crore, growing by 61 per cent and represented 10th consecutive quarter of sequential growth, adding in the year-on-year period, it had grown at 35 per cent.