Profit before tax (PBT) stood at Rs 81.71 crore in Q3 December 2019, up by 258.8% from Rs 22.77 crore reported in Q3 December 2018.

Net sales of the company surged 37.8% to Rs 729.59 crore in Q3 December 2019 from Rs 529.46 crore in Q3 December 2018.

EBITDA jumped 68% to Rs 150 crore in Q3 December 2019 over Q3 December 2018. EBITDA margins in the December quarter stood at 21%.

Commenting on the results announcement, Dr. Satyanarayana Chava - CEO said: "Our Formulations business led by Low Middle Income Countries (LMIC) tenders has delivered significant growth in a very short time, resulting in an approximately 30% contribution to revenues on a 9M FY20 basis. With an enhanced focus on growth opportunities arising from LMIC markets, the contribution from the FDF (finished dosage form) business is expected to improve further. The growth in the developed markets will be driven by our product-specific approach. Other API (active pharmaceutical ingredient) division has maintained its strong growth trajectory from previous quarters. The introduction of new high-value products continues to drive growth. However, our ARV (antiretroviral) API revenues were lower mainly because of lower offtake in the South Africa market due to delays in Supplementary tenders. With our margins improving consistently in FY20 I am very pleased to see that we are on a high growth track."

Commenting on the results announcement, V V Ravi Kumar, ED & Chief Financial Officer said, “Gross Margins continue to improve with Formulations business along with a change in product mix and softening of some raw material prices. Also, with the improved operating leverage, our EBITDA margins have shown improvement at 21% for Q3FY20 & 19% for 9M FY20. Our Asset utilization rates have improved with Unit 2 running at near full capacity. With attractive business opportunities and healthy order book for FY21, we continue to invest in our FDF Infrastructure. At the same time, we remain confident of achieving positive Free Cashflows (FCF) status from FY21 onwards.”

Laurus Labs operates as a pharmaceutical company. The company researches, develops, and manufactures active pharmaceutical ingredients for therapeutic areas of anti-retrovirals and hepatitis C. The drug maker serves customers worldwide.

Shares of Laurus Labs fell 2.13% to Rs 427. The stock jumped as much as 5.43% to hit the day's high at Rs 460 in morning trade, which is also a 52-week high for the scrip.