Virus a boon to drug makers

Some leading listed pharmaceuticals companies saw a notable rise in their net profits during the third quarter (July-September) of the current calendar year, thanks to higher expenses of people on healthcare amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Eight listed drug makers disclosed their Q3 (July-September) earnings as of Thursday. Six of them---leading ones--- posted healthy earnings per share (EPS) compared to that of same period of the previous year. The remaining two recorded minor erosion in their profit.
The EPS is the portion of a company's profit allocated to each outstanding share of common stock, meaning it is an indicator of the company's profitability.
According to un-audited financial statements for the July-September quarter, 2020, the EPS of Advanced Chemical Industries (ACI) posted the highest growth. The company's profit rebounded in the July-September, 2020 after passing seven consecutive loss-making quarters.
The ACI's consolidated earnings per share stood at Tk 1.69 for July-September period of 2020 as against loss of Tk 5.21 per share during the corresponding period of 2019.
The ACI has reported Tk 40 million in net profit in July-September, 2020, putting the brake on continuous quarterly losses.
The company has managed the Covid-induced crisis better than most others as it posted an increased sale of health safety items such sanitizers, germicidal sprays and hand-washing soaps.
"Our profits rose thanks to higher sales, controlled operating costs and lower finance costs", said a top official of the company.
He noted that sales of pandemic-related hygiene products grew significantly over the past few months.
ACI's sales grew nearly 16 per cent to Tk 18.23 billion in the July-September quarter compared to the same period last year.
The EPS of Square Pharmaceuticals, the country's largest pharmaceutical company in terms of market-cap, rose by more than 17 per cent year-on-year to Tk 4.66 in the July-September quarter of 2020.
The Square Pharma's sales jumped to Tk 14.72 billion in July-September, 2020 quarter, up from Tk 13.21 billion in the same quarter last year.
Beximco Pharmaceutical's sales also increased nearly 10 per cent year-on-year to Tk 6.92 billion in July-September, 2020 quarter.
The Beximco Pharma also reported EPS of Tk 2.13 for July-September, 2020 as against Tk 1.86 in the same quarter last year.
The IBN Sina Pharmaceutical's EPS was Tk 3.25 for July-September 2020 against Tk 2.86 for July-September 2019.
The AMCE Laboratories net profit rose to Tk 414.55 million for July-September, 2020 as against Tk 399.92 million in the same quarter last year.
The ACME's EPS stood at Tk 1.96 for July-September, 2020 which was Tk 1.89 in the same quarter a year ago.
The EPS of Silva Pharmaceuticals was Tk 0.35 for July-September 2020 as against Tk 0.29 for July-September 2019.
The overall pharmaceuticals industry also managed to grow its exports in the just-concluded fiscal year on the back of a steady rise in demand for medicines during the coronavirus-induced economic crisis, which have decimated other major export sectors.
Pharmaceutical shipments soared 4.49 per cent year-on-year to $136 million in fiscal 2019-20 following improvements in product quality and policy support, according to Export Promotion Bureau data.
Industry people attributed the rise in the sale of medicines to rising population, increase in purchasing power and life expectancy. These are all positive factors for the pharmaceutical sector's growth.
The net income of the people is increasing, so they now spend more on healthcare while Covid-19 pandemic fuel the people's buying hygiene items, they said.
According to the Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceuticals Industries (BAPI), Bangladesh exports medicine to 150 countries. Local companies meet almost 98 per cent of domestic demand worth around $2 billion.

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