Drug firm Ajanta Pharma Ltd on Thursday reported a 19.2 percent year-on-year (YoY) jump in net profit at Rs 208.1 crore for the first quarter that ended June 30, 2023.

In the corresponding quarter last year, Ajanta Pharma posted a net profit of Rs 174.6 crore, the company said in a regulatory filing.

In the quarter, total revenue stood at Rs 1,021 crore during the period under review, up 7.4 percent against Rs 950.9 crore in the corresponding period of the preceding fiscal.

At the operating level, EBITDA jumped 26.7 percent to Rs 272.2 crore in the first quarter of this fiscal over Rs 221.8 crore in the corresponding period in the previous fiscal.

EBITDA margin stood at 16.9 percent in the reporting quarter as compared to 23.3 percent in the corresponding period in the previous fiscal. EBITDA is earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation.

The board of directors of Ajanta Pharma approved the first interim dividend of Rs 315 crore for the year FY2024. It translated into Rs 25 per share (1250 percent) for each Rs 2 face value share. This total dividend of Rs 25 per share includes a regular dividend of Rs 10 per share and an additional Rs 15 per share.

For the first quarter, sales of branded generic businesses in India were Rs 319 crore against Rs 279 crore, up 14 percent year-on-year. For Asia, the sale was Rs 254 crore and for Africa, it was Rs 159 crore. The R&D expenses of the company stood at Rs 55 crore against Rs 54 crore.

During the first quarter, Ajanta Pharma received 3 abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) final approval and filed 3 ANDAs. Out of 49 final ANDA approvals, the company commercialized 41 products and holds 3 tentative approvals and 21 ANDAs are awaiting US FDA approval, it said.

The results came after the close of the market hours. Shares of Ajanta Pharma ended at Rs 1,546.20, up by Rs 41.20, or 2.74 percent on the BSE.