‘Sick’ Hindustan Antibiotics eyes global market to boost earnings
NEW DELHI: After being taken off from the government’s list of public sector units to be put up for strategic sale, sick pharma PSU, Hindustan Antibiotics Ltd, plans to tap international market to grow its revenue kitty.
The company will execute new diversification strategies with an aim to feature among the world’s major medicine producers in the next five years, newly appointed managing director Nirja Saraf said in a letter written to employees. “So, let’s first make plans to increase our turnover to the level of ₹300 crore and also make a plan to tap the international market,” Saraf said. HT has a copy of the letter.
Hindustan Antibiotics currently has a revenue of around ₹80 crore according to industry estimates. The company operates a single plant in Pune.
The Indian antibiotics market is estimated at ₹2,500 crore, while globally, it is ₹2,70,000-crore.
Saraf’s letter, however, is silent about the 1,000 employees of the PSU who haven’t received their salaries for over 23 months. The affected employees have demanded a ₹678-crore rehabilitation package.
Hindustan Antibiotics Ltd, whose foundation was laid by the first Prime Minister of the country, Jawaharlal Nehru, ran into financial troubles mainly due to increased competition and obsolete business strategies.
After making continuous losses since 1993-94, the company was referred to the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) in 1997. A rehabilitation scheme wa first prepared by IDBI and later revised and approved by the BIFR.