Pharmaceutical and biotechnology company Laurus Labs reported a more than twofold increase in consolidated net profit to ₹436.74 crore for the September quarter, driven by a 33% growth in revenue from operations.

Revenue from operations rose to ₹2,206.37 crore from ₹1,653.47 crore in the corresponding quarter last year, supported by contributions from the contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) business, particularly small molecules, and the Affordable Medicine division.

The company also declared an interim dividend of ₹1 per equity share of ₹2 face value.

Acquiring stake in Canadian firm

Laurus said it is acquiring 60% stake in Galenvs Sciences Inc., a contract research and development organisation based in Montreal, Canada, at a pre-money valuation of $3.50 million. The company proposes to invest $3.75 million comprising a primary infusion of $2.75 million and a secondary acquisition of $1 million. Galenvs specialises in custom oligonucleotide synthesis and functional magnetic-nanoparticle (MNP) technologies for the diagnostics and therapeutics markets.

The Board of Laurus on Thursday also approved acquisition of 52% in Hyderabad-based SI & C Resins at a pre-money valuation of ₹30 crore. Laurus proposes to invest a total of ₹32.50 crore, by way of primary acquisition of 10,833 equity shares, equivalent to 52% of post-issue equity capital in the company that specialises in manufacturing and supply of high-quality polymer and silica-based products for the chemical, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology industries.

On the quarterly performance, founder and CEO Satyanarayana Chava said it demonstrates the strength of the company’s CDMO platform and Affordable Medicines portfolio. Laurus is executing a transformation strategy and operationalised its first commercial scale peptide plant in Visakhapatnam to address surging demand for peptide therapeutics. It has made investments in Oligonucleotides and peptide-resins technologies, he said.