Mar 31, 2023
The Directors are pleased to present the 35th Annual Report with the Audited Accounts for the financial year ended 31 March 2023.
Rs. in Million |
||
2022-23 |
2021-22 |
|
Total Revenue |
20,284 |
19,476 |
Profit before interest & depreciation |
2,625 |
3,454 |
Interest |
481 |
312 |
Profit before depreciation |
2,144 |
3,142 |
Depreciation |
1,090 |
957 |
Profit before taxation |
1,054 |
2,185 |
Provision for taxation |
||
- Current tax |
305 |
596 |
- Deferred tax |
(35) |
(16) |
Profit after tax |
784 |
1,605 |
Reserves and surplus |
11,088 |
10,433 |
Dividend on equity share |
123 |
271 |
The Company achieved revenue of H20,284 million in 2022-23, against H19,476 million in the previous year, recording a growth of 4%. The sales of the pharmaceutical business recorded a decline of 1% to H11,152 million, while the sales of the Crop Protection saw a growth of 12% to H9,079 million.
The EBIDTA margins stood at around 12.9%, decreased from H3,454 million in the previous year to H2,625 million in 2022-23. Absolute EBITDA also decreased by H829 million (24.0%). The Profit before Tax (PBT) reduced by 52% from H2,185 million in the previous year to H1,054 million in 2022-23. Profit After Tax (PAT) witnessed a decline of 51% from H1,605 million in the previous year to H784 million in 2022-23. The Earning per Share (EPS) also decreased from H13.02 in the previous year to H6.36 in 2022-23.
The Company is incurring substantial capital expenditure for growth in the Pharmaceutical and Crop Protection businesses to augment capacities for existing products and to create capacities for new products, as well as investments in Research & Technology.
The Company has prudently been funding the growth Capex with a mix between internal accruals and long-term loans. In doing so, the Company ensures that it maintains a healthy liquidity position and that its financial gearing and debt service coverage are at comfortable levels.
The Current Ratio of the Company is at 1.42 for 2022-23, as against 1.25 in the previous year. The net Debt to Equity Ratio slightly increase from 0.59 in the previous year to 0.61 in 2022-23, while the Debt
Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR) declined from 1.96 in the previous year to 1.77 in 2022-23.
3. EXPORTS
Exports for the year 2022-23 were H13,684 million (68% of total sales) as compared to H14,141.98 million (73% of total sales) in the previous year. The decrease in exports can be attributed to a larger market share gained by our Indian customers selling in global markets, primarily in the US and Europe.
4. MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
The Management Discussion and Analysis on the Companyâs operations is provided in a separate section and forms part of this Annual Report.
5. BUSINESS RESPONSIBILITY AND SUSTAINABILITY REPORT
The Companyâs Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report, in terms of Regulation 34 of SEBI (Listing Obligations & Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015, (Listing Regulations), is provided in a separate section and forms part of this Annual Report.
6. DIVIDEND
The Board declared an interim dividend of 30% (H0.60 per share), which was paid to shareholders in February 2023, and recommended a final dividend of 30% (H0.60 per share) for the year 2022-23. If approved by the shareholders, the dividend for the financial year 2022-23 shall aggregate to 60% (previous year: 80%).
There has been no change in the Companyâs paid-up share capital during the current financial year. The paid-up equity share capital as on 31 March 2023, stood at H246.60 million. During the financial year, the Company did not issue shares with differential voting rights nor granted any stock options or sweat equity. As on 31 March 2023, none of the Companyâs Directors held instruments convertible into equity shares of the Company.
The Annual Return of the Company, as required under Section 92 of the Companies Act, 2013 (the Act), read with the Rules framed thereunder, in the prescribed Form MGT-7, is available on the website of the Company at www.hikal.com/documents/agm.
The Company has two subsidiaries viz. Acoris Research Limited and Hikal LLC, USA. A statement containing the salient features of the Financial Statements of Subsidiaries in the prescribed Form AOC-1, is attached as âAnnexure Aâ to this Report. The Company will provide the Financial Statements of the subsidiaries and the related information to any member of the Company who may be interested in obtaining the same. The financial statements of the subsidiaries will also be available for inspection in electronic mode. Members who wish to inspect the same are requested to write to the Company by sending an email to [email protected]. The Consolidated Financial Statements of the Company, forming part of this Annual Report, include the Financial Statements of Subsidiaries. The Financial Statements of Subsidiaries are also hosted on the website of the Company at www.hikal.com/documents/annual-reports.
All Independent Directors have given declarations that they meet the criteria of independence as laid down under Section 149(6) of the Companies Act, 2013, and Securities and Exchange Board of India (Listing Obligations & Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015. In the opinion of the Board, the Independent Directors appointed during the year possess the integrity, expertise and experience (including proficiency) required to contribute to the quality and better governance of the Board processes.
I n accordance with the provisions of Section 152 of the Companies Act, 2013, and the Companyâs Articles of Association, Mr. Amit Kalyani (DIN - 00089430), Director,
retires by rotation at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM), and being eligible, offers himself for re-appointment.
Based on the recommendation of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee, the Board has, in its meeting held on 16 August 2023, approved the appointment of Mr. Berjis Minoo Desai (DIN: 00153675) and Mr. Ramachandra Kaundinya Vinnakota (DIN: 00043067) as Independent Directors for respective terms of 5 (Five) years each, with effect from 1 October 2023, subject to the approval of the members of the Company at the 35th Annual General Meeting.
Details of the number of Board meetings, held during the financial year 2022-23, are mentioned in the Corporate Governance Report, which forms part of this Annual Report.
Pursuant to the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013, and Securities and Exchange Board of India (Listing Obligations & Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015, a structured questionnaire was prepared after taking into consideration the various aspects of the Boardâs functioning, like composition of the Board and its Committees, culture, execution and performance of specific duties, obligations and governance.
The performance evaluation of the Independent Directors was completed. In a separate meeting of Independent Directors, performance of Non-Independent Directors, the Board as a whole and the Chairman of the Company was evaluated, taking into account the views of Executive Directors and Non-Executive Directors. The Board of Directors expressed their satisfaction with the evaluation process.
The Company has a Whistle Blower policy to report genuine concerns or grievances. The Whistle Blower Policy is posted on the Companyâs website www.hikal. com/uploads/documents/whistle-blower-policy.pdf.
The Company has a policy which lays down a framework in relation to remuneration of Directors, Key Managerial Personnel and Senior Management of the Company. The Remuneration and Nomination Policy of the Company is attached as âAnnexure Bâ to this Report. This policy also lays down criterion for selection and appointment of Board members. The details of this policy are explained in the Corporate Governance Report and uploaded on the Companyâs website www.hikal.com/uploads/documents/ remuneration-policy.pdf.
14. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
All related party transactions entered during the financial year, were at an armâs length basis and in the ordinary course of business. There were no materially significant related party transactions made by the Company with Promoters, Directors, Key Managerial Personnel or other designated persons, which may have a potential conflict with the Companyâs interest at large. The disclosure of Related Party Transactions as required under Section 134(3)(h) of the Act in Form AOC-2 is attached as âAnnexure Câ
All related party transactions were placed before the Audit Committee for approval.
The policy on Related Party Transactions, as approved by the Board, is uploaded on the Companyâs website https://www.hikal.com/uploads/documents/
RelatedPartyTransactionPolicy.pdf.
15. SIGNIFICANT AND MATERIAL ORDERS PASSED BY THE REGULATORS OR COURTS
In connection with a newspaper report published on 7 January 2022 in the daily âIndian Expressâ titled âGujarat: At least 06 dead, 20 sick after gas leak at industrial area in Suratâ, the Honâble Principle Bench of National Green Tribunal (NGT) took suo-moto cognizance of the said incident and vide its order dated 18 January 2022, the Honâble Principal Bench of NGT at New Delhi constituted a nine-member joint Committee headed by Retired Chief Justice of Honâble Delhi High court, to investigate the incident and submit its report.
The joint Committee, without providing the Company an opportunity to submit its case, submitted its reports dated 31 May 2022 and 4 June 2022. Vide order dated 23 September 2022, the Honâble Principal Bench of NGT at New Delhi took the said reports of the joint committee on record and sought the response of the Company in this regard. Aggrieved by the said order of NGT, New Delhi, the Company filed a writ petition bearing number 35496 of 2022, before the Honâble Bombay High Court, challenging, among other matters, the jurisdiction of NGT, New Delhi and to set aside the impugned reports submitted by the joint Committee. While the writ petition no. 35496 of 2022 was pending before the Honâble Bombay High Court, the Honâble Principal Bench of NGT at New Delhi passed an order dated 24 March 2023 accepting the said reports submitted by the joint Committee. The Honâble Bombay High Court vide its order dated 24 March 2023 directed the authorities not to act on the said order of NGT, New Delhi Bench and the said direction is still continuing as on the date of this Report.
Further, the Company has received a communication from the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) on 22 July 2023, directing the Company to close operations of its plant located at GIDC Panoli, Dist. Bharuch, within 15 days from the order date. This directive comes in light of
an alleged technical violation reported to have occurred in 2021.
After considering the clarifications provided by the company in this regard, GPCB vide communication dated 05 August 2023, revoked the closure direction dated 21 July 2023 for an initial period of 3 months, as per the procedure. The Companyâs Panoli facility continues to operate as normal, with no interruption in production activities.
There were no significant and material orders passed by the regulators/courts that could impact the going concern status of the Company and its future operations, other than what is mentioned above.
The Company has a robust business risk management framework in place to identify and evaluate all business risks. The Company recognises risk management as a crucial aspect of the Companyâs management and is aware that identification and management of risk effectively is instrumental to achieving its corporate objectives.
The Company has identified the business risks, and the business heads, who are termed as risk owners, to assess, monitor and manage these risks on an ongoing basis. The risk owners assess the identified risks and continually identify any new risks that can affect the business. Different risks such as technological, operational, maintenance of quality, reputational, competition, environmental, foreign exchange, financial, human resource, and legal compliances, among others, are assessed on a continuous basis. The Risk Management Committee and Audit Committee review and submit to the Board of Directors their findings in the form of risk register at regular intervals. At the Board meetings, the members have a detailed discussion to assess each risk and the measures that are in place to lower them to acceptable limits.
The strategies are reviewed, discussed and allocation of appropriate resources is done as and when necessary. The risk management programme, internal control systems and processes are monitored and updated on an ongoing basis. A built-up mechanism has been established to identify, measure, control, monitor and report the risks. Business heads are responsible for rolling out the risk assessment and management plan within the organisation.
17. INTERNAL CONTROL SYSTEMS AND THEIR ADEQUACY
The Company has an internal control system, commensurate with the size, scale and complexity of its operations. To maintain its objectivity and independence, the Internal Audit function reports to the Chairman of the Audit Committee of the Board.
The Internal Audit Department monitors and evaluates the efficacy and adequacy of the internal control system in the Company, its compliance with operating systems, accounting procedures and policies at all locations of the Company and its subsidiaries. Based on the report of internal audit function, process owners undertake corrective action in their respective areas and thereby, strengthen the controls. Significant audit observations and corrective actions thereon are presented to the Audit Committee.
The Audit Committee actively reviews the adequacy and effectiveness of the internal control systems and suggests improvements to strengthen them. The Company has a robust management information system, which is an integral part of the control mechanism.
During the year, a thorough audit of the internal financial controls was carried out by an independent firm of chartered accountants.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 203 of the Act, following were the Key Managerial Personnel of the Company as on 31 March 2023:
Mr. Jai Hiremath, Executive Chairman (WTD)
Mr. Sameer Hiremath, Managing Director
Mr. Kuldeep Jain, Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Rajasekhar Reddy, Company Secretary.
19. PARTICULARS OF LOANS, GUARANTEES AND INVESTMENTS BY THE COMPANY
The details under Section 186 of the Companies Act, 2013, are given in Note No. 55 to the notes to the financial statements.
20. DIRECTORâS RESPONSIBILITY STATEMENT
Your Directors state that:
(i) In the preparation of the annual accounts, the applicable accounting standards read with requirements set out under Schedule III to the Companies Act, 2013, were followed and there are no material departures from the same;
(ii) The Directors have selected such accounting policies and applied them consistently and made judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent so as to give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Company at the end of the financial year 2022-23, and of the profits of the Company for that year;
(iii) The Directors have taken proper and sufficient care for the maintenance of adequate accounting records in accordance with the provisions of the Act for safeguarding the assets of the Company
and for preventing and detecting fraud and other irregularities;
(iv) The annual accounts have been prepared on a going concern basis;
(v) The Directors have laid down internal financial controls to be followed by the Company and that such internal financial controls are adequate and are operating effectively; and
(vi) The Directors have devised a proper system to ensure compliance with the provision of all applicable laws and that such systems are adequate and are operating effectively.
At the 31st Annual General Meeting held on 1 August 2019, S R B C & CO. LLP, Chartered Accountants, Mumbai, (FRN: 324982E/E300003), were appointed as the Statutory Auditors of the Company to hold office from the conclusion of 31st Annual General Meeting of the Company till the conclusion of the 36th Annual General Meeting to be held in the year 2024.
The Auditorâs report prepared by S R B C & CO. LLP, to the members on the accounts of the Company for the year ended 31 March 2023, does not contain any qualifications, adverse or disclaimer remarks. No fraud has been reported by the Auditors to the Audit Committee or the Board.
The Company has re-appointed M/s. V. J. Talati & Co., as the Cost Auditor to carry out the audit of cost accounts for the financial year 2023-24. The requisite resolution for ratification, of remuneration payable to Cost Auditors for the year 2023-24, by the shareholders has been set out in the Notice of AGM. The cost audit report for the financial year 2021-22 was filed with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India, on 5 September 2022.
The Board had appointed Dhrumil M. Shah & Co. LLP, Practicing Company Secretaries, to conduct the Secretarial Audit for the financial year 2022-23.
The Secretarial Audit Report for the financial year ended 31 March 2023, is annexed to this report as âAnnexure Dâ The Secretarial Audit Report does not contain any qualifications, reservations, or adverse remarks.
24. CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR)
The Corporate Social Responsibility Committee (CSR Committee) has formulated and recommended to the Board, a Corporate Social Responsibility Policy (CSR Policy) indicating the activities to be undertaken by the
Company, which has been approved by the Board. The CSR Policy may be accessed on the Companyâs website www.hikal.com/uploads/documents/corporate-social-responsibility-polic-srijan.pdf.
The Annual Report on CSR activities is annexed herewith marked as âAnnexure Eâ
25. PREVENTION OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT OF WOMEN AT WORKPLACE
Pursuant to the provisions of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (prevention, prohibition and redressal) Act, 2013, (âPOSH Actâ), the Company adopted a âPolicy on Appropriate Social Conduct at Workplaceâ. The policy is applicable for all employees of the organisation, which includes corporate office and manufacturing units. The policy is applicable to nonemployees as well, i.e. business associates, vendors, and trainees, among others.
A Complaints Committee has also been set up to redress complaints received on sexual harassment as well as other forms of verbal, physical, written or visual harassment.
During the financial year 2022-23, the Company did not receive any complaints of sexual harassment and no cases were filed under the POSH Act.
26. TRANSFER TO INVESTOR EDUCATION AND PROTECTION FUND (âIEPFâ)
⢠Transfer of Unclaimed Dividend to IEPF
During the financial year, dividend, relating to the year ended 31 March 2015, amounting to H337,322/-that had not been claimed by the shareholders, was transferred to the credit of IEPF as required under Sections 124 and 125 of the Act.
⢠Unclaimed dividend as on 31 March 2023
The Shareholders are requested to lodge their claims with the Registrar and Share Transfer Agents of the Company i.e. Universal Capital Securities Pvt. Ltd., for unclaimed dividend.
Pursuant to the provisions of Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (Accounting, Audit, Transfer and Refund) Rules, 2016 (as amended), the Company has uploaded the details of unpaid and unclaimed amounts lying with the Company as on 31 March, 2022, on the website of the Company www.hikal. com/documents/dividend-shares. The same are also available on the website of the IEPF Authority www. iepf.gov.in.
⢠Transfer of Equity Shares
As required under Section 124 of the Act, during the financial year, 4970 Equity Shares, in respect of which dividend has not been claimed by the members for seven consecutive years or more, were transferred by the Company to the IEPF Authority. Details of such shares transferred have been uploaded on the website of the Company www.hikal.com/documents/dividend-shares. The same are also available on the website of the IEPF Authority www.iepf.gov.in.
The Company continued to maintain the highest standards in environment, health and safety. The Company has become the first Indian life sciences company to receive the Responsible Care certification. It is applicable to all manufacturing and research sites of the Company. Continuous training and awareness programmes for the employees are undertaken on a frequent basis.
The Company did not accept any deposits and as such there were no overdue deposits outstanding as on 31 March 2023.
The Company considers its human capital an invaluable asset. The Company continued to have cordial relationships with all its employees. Management and employee development programmes and exercises were conducted at all sites. Employees had various team building exercises and were sponsored for various external seminars and other developmental programmes to enhance their skill sets. The total workforce of the Company stood at 3211 as on 31 March 2023, including 2142 permanent employees.
The statement containing particulars of employees as required under Section 197(12) of the Companies Act, 2013, read with Rule 5 of the Companies (Appointment and Remuneration of Managerial Personnel) Rules, 2014, forms a part of this Report. Further, the Report and the financial statements are being sent to the members, excluding the aforesaid statement. In terms of Section 136 of the Companies Act, 2013, the said statement is open for inspection. Any member interested in obtaining such particulars may write to the Company Secretary at [email protected].
30. CONSERVATION OF ENERGY, RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT, TECHNOLOGY ABSORPTION AND FOREIGN EXCHANGE EARNINGS AND OUTGO
I n accordance with the requirements of Section 134(3)(m) of the Companies Act, 2013, read with Rule 8(3) of the Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014, a statement showing particulars with respect to Conservation of Energy, Technology Absorption and Foreign Exchange Earnings and Outgo, forming a part of the Directorsâ Report, is given in the enclosed âAnnexure Fâ which forms a part of this Report.
31. CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
A report on Corporate Governance, along with a certificate from Dhrumil M. Shah & Co. LLP, Practicing Company Secretaries regarding the compliance of the requirements of Corporate Governance, as stipulated under the provisions of Regulation 34 of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Listing Obligations & Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015, is annexed to this Annual Report.
32. SECRETARIAL STANDARDS
The Company has complied with the applicable Secretarial Standards, issued by the Institute of Company Secretaries of India, during the Financial Year 2022-23.
33. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Board of Directors place on record their appreciation of the contribution and sincere support extended to the Company by our bankers, financial institutions and valued customers and suppliers.
The Board also places on record its appreciation for the impeccable service and generous efforts rendered by its employees at all levels, across the Board, towards the overall growth and success of the Company.
34. CAUTIONARY STATEMENT
Statements in the Boardâs Report and the Management Discussion and Analysis describing the Companyâs objectives, expectations or forecasts may be forward looking within the meaning of applicable securities laws and regulations. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed in the statement. Important factors that could influence the Companyâs operations include global and domestic demand and supply conditions affecting selling prices of finished goods, input availability and prices, changes in Government regulations, tax laws, economic developments within the country and other factors such as litigation and industrial relations.
For and on behalf of the Board of Directors
Sd/-
Jai Hiremath
Date: 16 August 2023 Executive Chairman
Place: Mumbai DIN: 00062203
Mar 31, 2022
The Directors are pleased to present the 34th Annual Report with the Audited Accounts for the financial year ended 31 March 2022. 1. FINANCIAL RESULTS
'' in Million |
||
2021-22 |
2020-21 |
|
Total Revenue |
19,476 |
17,254 |
Profit before interest & depreciation |
3,454 |
3,278 |
Interest |
312 |
362 |
Profit before depreciation |
3,142 |
2,916 |
Depreciation |
957 |
852 |
Profit before taxation before exceptional item |
2,185 |
2,064 |
Provision for taxation |
||
- Current tax |
596 |
796 |
- Deferred tax |
(16) |
(63) |
Profit after tax |
1,605 |
1,331 |
Reserves and surplus |
10,433 |
9,088 |
Dividend on equity share |
271 |
148 |
The Current Ratio of the Company is at a healthy 1.25 for FY 2021-22, as against 1.34 in the previous year. The net Debt to Equity Ratio improved from 0.61 in the previous year to 0.59 in FY 2021-22, while the Debt Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR) strengthened from 1.29 in the previous year to 1.31 in FY 2021-22.
3. EXPORTS
Exports for the year 2021-22 were '' 14,141.98 million (73% of total sales) as compared to '' 11,822.59 million (69% of total sales) in the previous year. We diversified our customer base, which included more local customers who, in turn, re-exported our manufactured products.
4. MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
The Management Discussion and Analysis on the Companyâs operations is provided in a separate section and forms part of this Annual Report.
5. BUSINESS RESPONSIBILITY REPORT
The Companyâs Business Responsibility Report, in terms of Regulation 34 of SEBI (Listing Obligations & Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015, (Listing Regulations), is provided in a separate section and forms part of this Annual Report.
The Company achieved total revenue of '' 19,476 million in FY 2021-22, against '' 17,254 million in the previous year, recording a growth of 12.9%. The sales of the pharmaceutical business recorded a growth by 6.6% to '' 11,297 million, while the sales of the Crop Protection saw a growth of 23% to '' 8,129 million.
The EBIDTA margins stood at around 17.8%, growing in line with the turnover from '' 3,278 million in the previous year to '' 3,454 million in FY 2021-22. Absolute EBITDA also increased by '' 176 million (5.4%). The Profit before Tax (PBT) went up by 5.9% from '' 2,064 million in the previous year to '' 2,185 million in FY 2021-22. Profit after Tax (PAT) witnessed a growth of 20.6% from '' 1,331 million in the previous year to '' 1,605 million in FY 2021-22. The Earning per Share (EPS) also increased from '' 10.80 in the previous year to '' 13.02 in FY 2021-22.
The Company is incurring substantial capital expenditure for growth in the Pharmaceutical and Crop Protection businesses to augment capacities for existing products and to create capacities for new products, as well as investments in Research & Technology.
The Company has prudently been funding the growth capex with a mix between internal accruals and long-term loans. In doing so, the Company ensures that it maintains a healthy liquidity position and that its financial gearing and debt service coverage are at comfortable levels.
Meeting (AGM), and being eligible, offers himself for re-appointment. The Board has, in its meeting held on 22 December 2021, appointed Mr. Shrikrishna K. Adivarekar (DIN-06928271) as an Additional Director of the Company, in the category of Independent Director for a term of three years with effect from 22 December
2021, subject to the approval of the members of the Company at the 34th Annual General Meeting. The Board proposes appointment of Mr. Shrikrishna K. Adivarekar as an Independent Director of the Company for a term of three years w.e.f. 22 December 2021. The Board of Directors, vide their circular resolution passed on 19 July
2022, re-appointed Mrs. Shivani Bhasin Sachdeva (DIN: 00590500) as an Independent Director of the Company for a second consecutive term of 5 years with effect from 1 August 2022, subject to the approval of the members of the Company. In the opinion of the Board, the Independent Director appointed during the year possesses the integrity, expertise and experience (including proficiency) required to contribute to the quality and better governance of the Board processes.
During the financial year, Mr. Ravindra Kumar Goyal resigned as an Independent Director of the Company w.e.f. 22 December 2021, due to personal reasons. The Board places on record its appreciation for his invaluable contribution and guidance during his tenure as an Independent Director.
Details of the number of Board meetings, held during 2021-22, are mentioned in the Corporate Governance Report, which forms part of this Annual Report.
11. BOARD EVALUATION
Pursuant to the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013, and Securities and Exchange Board of India (Listing Obligations & Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015, a structured questionnaire was prepared after taking into consideration the various aspects of the Boardâs functioning, like composition of the Board and its Committees, culture, execution and performance of specific duties, obligations and governance.
The performance evaluation of the Independent Directors was completed. In a separate meeting of Independent Directors, performance of Non-Independent Directors, the Board as a whole and the Chairman of the Company was evaluated, taking into account the views of Executive Directors and Non-Executive Directors. The Board of Directors expressed their satisfaction with the evaluation process.
12. WHISTLE-BLOWER POLICY
The Company has a Whistle-Blower policy to report genuine concerns or grievances. The Whistle-Blower Policy is posted on the Companyâs website www.hikal. com.
The Board declared an interim dividend of 60% ('' 1.20 per share), which was paid to shareholders in March 2022, and recommended a final dividend of 20% ('' 0.40 per share) for the year 2021-22. If approved by the shareholders, the dividend for the financial year 2021-22 shall aggregate to 80% (previous year: 100%).
There has been no change in the Companyâs paid-up share capital during the current financial year. The paid-up equity share capital as on 31 March 2022, stood at '' 246.60 million. During the year under review, the Company did not issue shares with differential voting rights nor granted any stock options or sweat equity. As on 31 March 2022, none of the Companyâs Directors held instruments convertible into equity shares of the Company.
The Annual Return of the Company, as required under Section 92 of the Companies Act, 2013, read with the Rules framed thereunder, in the prescribed Form MGT-7, is available on the website of the Company www.hikal. com.
The Company has two subsidiaries viz. Acoris Research Limited and Hikal LLC, USA (became a subsidiary during the year). A statement containing the salient features of the Financial Statements of Subsidiaries in the prescribed Form AOC-1, is attached as âAnnexure Aâ to this Report. The Company will provide the Financial Statements of the subsidiaries and the related information to any member of the Company who may be interested in obtaining the same. The financial statements of the subsidiaries will also be available for inspection in electronic mode. Members who wish to inspect the same are requested to write to the Company by sending an email to secretarial_agm@ hikal.com. The Consolidated Financial Statements of the Company, forming part of this Annual Report, include the Financial Statements of Subsidiaries. The Financial Statements of Subsidiaries are also hosted on the website of the Company www.hikal.com.
All Independent Directors have given declarations that they meet the criteria of independence as laid down under Section 149(6) of the Companies Act, 2013, and Securities and Exchange Board of India (Listing Obligations & Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015.
In accordance with the provisions of Section 152 of the Companies Act, 2013, and the Companyâs Articles of Association, Mr. B. N. Kalyani (DIN - 00089380), Director, retires by rotation at the forthcoming Annual General
There were no significant and material orders passed by the regulators/courts that could impact the going concern status of the Company and its future operations, other than what is mentioned above.
16. RISK MANAGEMENT
The Company has a robust business risk management framework in place to identify and evaluate all business risks. The Company recognises risk management as a crucial aspect of the Companyâs management and is aware that identification and management of risk effectively is instrumental to achieving its corporate objectives.
The Company has identified the business risks, and the business heads, who are termed as risk owners, to assess, monitor and manage these risks on an ongoing basis. The risk owners assess the identified risks and continually identify any new risks that can affect the business. Different risks such as technological, operational, maintenance of quality, reputational, competition, environmental, foreign exchange, financial, human resource, and legal compliances, among others, are assessed on a continuous basis. The Risk Management Committee and Audit Committee review and submit to the Board of Directors their findings in the form of risk register at regular intervals. At the Board meetings, the members have a detailed discussion to assess each risk and the measures that are in place to lower them to acceptable limits.
The strategies are reviewed, discussed and allocation of appropriate resources is done as and when necessary. The risk management program, internal control systems and processes are monitored and updated on an ongoing basis. A built-up mechanism has been established to identify, measure, control, monitor and report the risks. Business heads are responsible for rolling out the risk assessment and management plan within the organisation.
17. INTERNAL CONTROL SYSTEMS AND THEIR ADEQUACY
The Company has an internal control system, commensurate with the size, scale and complexity of its operations. To maintain its objectivity and independence, the Internal Audit function reports to the Chairman of the Audit Committee of the Board.
The Internal Audit Department monitors and evaluates the efficacy and adequacy of the internal control system in the Company, its compliance with operating systems, accounting procedures and policies at all locations of the Company and its subsidiaries. Based on the report of internal audit function, process owners undertake corrective action in their respective areas and thereby, strengthen the controls. Significant audit observations and corrective actions thereon are presented to the Audit Committee.
The Company has a policy which lays down a framework in relation to remuneration of Directors, Key Managerial Personnel and Senior Management of the Company. The Remuneration and Nomination Policy of the Company is attached as âAnnexure Bâ to this Report. This policy also lays down criteria for selection and appointment of Board members. The details of this policy are explained in the Corporate Governance Report and uploaded on the Companyâs website www.hikal.com.
14. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
All related party transactions, entered during the financial year, were at an armâs length basis and in the ordinary course of business. There were no materially significant related party transactions made by the Company with Promoters, Directors, Key Managerial Personnel or other designated persons, which may have a potential conflict with the Companyâs interest at large. The disclosure of Related Party Transactions as required under Section 134(3)(h) of the Act in Form AOC-2 is attached as âAnnexure Câ.
All related party transactions were placed before the Audit Committee and also the Board, for approval.
The policy on Related Party Transactions, as approved by the Board, is uploaded on the Companyâs website www. hikal.com.
15. SIGNIFICANT AND MATERIAL ORDERS PASSED BY THE REGULATORS OR COURTS
The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) had, vide its order dated 15 February 2022 directed the Company to stop the manufacturing activities at its manufacturing Unit, located at Taloja MIDC, Dist. Raigad, against which the Company filed a Writ Petition before the Honâble Bombay High Court. Vide order dated 21 February 2022, the Honâble Bombay High Court set aside the MPCB order dated 15 February 2022 and directed MPCB to grant a fresh personal hearing to the Company, on 1 March 2022.
After granting the aforementioned personal hearing, the MPCB had, vide its order dated 22 April 2022 directed the Company again to stop the manufacturing activities at the Taloja Plant. The Company has again challenged the said MPCB directions and filed a Writ Petition before the Honâble Bombay High Court. Vide order dated 23 June 2022, the Honâble Bombay High Court set aside the MPCB order dated 22 April 2022 and directed MPCB to grant permission to restart the manufacturing activities at the Taloja plant of the Company. Consequently, MPCB has granted permission, vide order dated 29 June 2022, to restart the manufacturing activities at the Taloja plant of the Company.
The Audit Committee actively reviews the adequacy and effectiveness of the internal control systems and suggests improvements to strengthen them. The Company has a robust management information system, which is an integral part of the control mechanism.
During the year, a thorough audit of the internal financial controls was carried out by an independent firm of chartered accountants.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 203 of the Act, following were the Key Managerial Personnel of the Company as on 31 March 2022:
Mr. Jai Hiremath, Executive Chairman (WTD)
Mr. Sameer Hiremath, Managing Director
Mr. Kuldeep Jain, Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Rajasekhar Reddy, Company Secretary
19. PARTICULARS OF LOANS, GUARANTEES AND INVESTMENTS BY THE COMPANY
The details under Section 186 of the Companies Act, 2013, are given in the Note No. 54 to the notes to the standalone financial statements.
20. DIRECTORâS RESPONSIBILITY STATEMENT
Your Directors state that:
(i) In the preparation of the annual accounts, the applicable accounting standards read with requirements set out under Schedule III to the Companies Act, 2013, (the Act), were followed and there are no material departures from the same;
(ii) The Directors have selected such accounting policies and applied them consistently and made judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent so as to give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Company at the end of the financial year 2021-22, and of the profits of the Company for that year;
(iii) The Directors have taken proper and sufficient care for the maintenance of adequate accounting records in accordance with the provisions of the Act for safeguarding the assets of the Company and for preventing and detecting fraud and other irregularities;
(iv) The annual accounts have been prepared on a going concern basis;
(v) The Directors have laid down internal financial controls to be followed by the Company and that
such internal financial controls are adequate and are operating effectively; and
(vi) The Directors have devised a proper system to ensure compliance with the provisions of all applicable laws and that such systems are adequate and are operating effectively.
At the 31st Annual General Meeting held on 1 August 2019, S R B C & CO LLP, Chartered Accountants, Mumbai, (FRN: 324982E/E300003), were appointed as the Statutory Auditors of the Company to hold office from the conclusion of 31st Annual General Meeting of the Company till the conclusion of the 36th Annual General Meeting to be held in the year 2024.
The Auditorâs report prepared by S R B C & CO. LLP, to the members on the accounts of the Company for the year ended 31 March 2022, does not contain any qualifications, adverse or disclaimer remarks. No fraud has been reported by the Auditors to the Audit Committee or the Board.
The Company has re-appointed M/s. V. J. Talati & Co., as the Cost Auditor to carry out the audit of cost accounts for the financial year 2022-23. The requisite resolution for ratification, of remuneration payable to Cost Auditors for the year 2022-23, by the shareholders has been set out in the Notice of AGM. The cost audit report for the financial year 2020-21 was filed with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India, on 28 August 2021.
The Board had appointed M/s. Ashish Bhatt & Associates, Practicing Company Secretaries, to conduct the Secretarial Audit for the financial year 2021-22.
The Secretarial Audit Report for the financial year ended 31 March 2022, is annexed to this report as âAnnexure Dâ. The observations/ remarks made in the secretarial audit report are self-explanatory and do not require any further elaboration.
24. CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR)
The Corporate Social Responsibility Committee (CSR Committee) has formulated and recommended to the Board, a Corporate Social Responsibility Policy (CSR Policy) indicating the activities to be undertaken by the Company, which has been approved by the Board. The CSR Policy may be accessed on the Companyâs website www.hikal.com.
The Annual Report on CSR activities is annexed herewith marked as âAnnexure Eâ.
25. PREVENTION OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT OF WOMEN AT WORKPLACE
Pursuant to the provisions of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (prevention, prohibition and redressal) Act, 2013, (âPOSH Actâ), the Company adopted a âPolicy on Appropriate Social Conduct at Workplaceâ. The policy is applicable for all employees of the organisation, which includes corporate office and manufacturing units. The policy is applicable to nonemployees as well, i.e. business associates, vendors, and trainees, among others.
A Complaints Committee has also been set up to redress complaints received on sexual harassment as well as other forms of verbal, physical, written or visual harassment.
During the financial year 2021-22, the Company did not receive any complaints of sexual harassment and no cases were filed under the POSH Act.
26. TRANSFER TO INVESTOR EDUCATION AND PROTECTION FUND (âIEPFâ)
⢠Transfer of Unclaimed Dividend to IEPF
During the financial year, dividend, relating to the year ended 31 March 2014, amounting to '' 284,276/-that had not been claimed by the shareholders, was transferred to the credit of IEPF as required under Sections 124 and 125 of the Act.
⢠Unclaimed dividend as on 31 March 2022
The Shareholders are requested to lodge their claims with the Registrar and Share Transfer Agents of the Company i.e. Universal Capital Securities Pvt. Ltd., for unclaimed dividend.
Pursuant to the provisions of Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (Accounting, Audit, Transfer and Refund) Rules, 2016, the Company has uploaded the details of unpaid and unclaimed amounts lying with the Company as on 31 March, 2021, on the website of the Company www.hikal. com. The same are also available on the website of the IEPF Authority www. iepf.gov.in.
⢠Transfer of Equity Shares
As required under Section 124 of the Act, during the financial year, 4007 Equity Shares, in respect of which dividend has not been claimed by the members for seven consecutive years or more, were transferred by the Company to the IEPF Authority. Details of such shares transferred have been uploaded on the website of the Company www.hikal.com. The same are also available on the website of the IEPF Authority www. iepf.gov.in.
27. SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENT
The Company continued to maintain the highest standards in environment, health and safety. The Company has become the first Indian life sciences company to receive the Responsible Care certification. It is applicable to all manufacturing and research sites of the Company. Continuous training and awareness programs for the employees are undertaken on a frequent basis.
28. DEPOSITS
The Company did not accept any deposits and as such there were no overdue deposits outstanding as on 31 March 2022.
29. EMPLOYEES
The Company considers its human capital as an invaluable asset. The Company continued to have cordial relationships with all its employees. Management and employee development programs and exercises were conducted at all sites. Employees had various team building exercises and were sponsored for various external seminars and other developmental programs to enhance their skill sets. The total workforce of the Company stood at 2850 as on 31 March 2022, including 1906 permanent employees.
The statement containing particulars of employees as required under Section 197(12) of the Companies Act,
2013, read with Rule 5 of the Companies (Appointment and Remuneration of Managerial Personnel) Rules,
2014, forms part of this Report. Further, the Report and the financial statements are being sent to the members, excluding the aforesaid statement. In terms of Section 136 of the Companies Act, 2013, the said statement is open for inspection. Any member interested in obtaining such particulars may write to the Company Secretary at [email protected].
30. CONSERVATION OF ENERGY, RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT, TECHNOLOGY ABSORPTION AND FOREIGN EXCHANGE EARNINGS AND OUTGO
In accordance with the requirements of Section 134(3) (m) of the Companies Act, 2013, read with rule 8(3) of the Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014, a statement showing particulars with respect to Conservation of Energy, Technology Absorption and Foreign Exchange Earnings and Outgo, forming a part of the Directorsâ Report, is given in the enclosed âAnnexure Fâ which forms part of this Report.
31. CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
A report on Corporate Governance, along with a certificate from the Auditors of the Company, regarding the compliance of the requirements of Corporate Governance, as stipulated under the provisions of Regulation 34 of the Securities and Exchange Board of
India (Listing Obligations & Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015, is annexed to this Annual Report.
The Company has complied with the applicable Secretarial Standards, issued by the Institute of Company Secretaries of India, during the Financial Year 2021-22.
The Board of Directors place on record their appreciation of the contribution and sincere support extended to the Company by our bankers, financial institutions and valued customers and suppliers.
The Board also places on record its appreciation for the impeccable service and generous efforts rendered by its employees at all levels, across the Board, towards the overall growth and success of the Company.
Statements in the Boardâs Report and the Management Discussion and Analysis describing the Companyâs
objectives, expectations or forecasts may be forward looking within the meaning of applicable securities laws and regulations. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed in the statement. Important factors that could influence the Companyâs operations include global and domestic demand and supply conditions affecting selling prices of finished goods, input availability and prices, changes in Government regulations, tax laws, economic developments within the country and other factors such as litigation and industrial relations.
For and on behalf of the Board of Directors
Sd/-
Jai Hiremath
Date: 10 August 2022 Executive Chairman
Place: Mumbai DIN: 00062203
Mar 31, 2018
To
The Members,
The Directors are pleased to present the 30th Annual Report with the Audited Accounts for the financial year ended 31 March, 2018.
Rs. in Millions
1. FINANCIAL RESULTS
2017-18 |
2016-17 |
|
Turnover |
13,001 |
10,339 |
Profit before interest and depreciation |
2,462 |
2,006 |
Interest |
491 |
482 |
Profit before depreciation |
1,971 |
1,524 |
Depreciation |
856 |
691 |
Profit before taxation |
1,115 |
833 |
Provision for taxation |
||
- Current tax |
447 |
217 |
- Deferred tax liability/(assets) |
(104) |
(91) |
Profit after tax |
772 |
707 |
Reserves and surplus |
6,529 |
5,885 |
Dividend on equity share |
107 |
132 |
Tax on dividend |
22 |
27 |
Transfer to general reserve |
- |
100 |
2. COMPANY PERFORMANCE
Last year we crossed a milestone of Rs.10,000 million in revenues, This year Hikal made a quantum jump in revenues to cross Rs.13,000 million, an all-time high. As we look forward to celebrating 30 years of Hikal this year, we are working towards maintaining the growth momentum.
Hikal saw its revenue increase from Rs.10,339 million in previous financial year to Rs.13,001 million (a growth oRs.25.7%). The sales of the Pharmaceutical business grew by 23.3% to Rs.7,528 million and that of our Crop Protection business grew by 29.3% to Rs.5473 million (Details of business performance provided in the MDA).
Introduction of new products, addition of new customers and increased market demand for existing products contributed to this growth. The EBITDA (Rs.2,462 million) also showed a growth oRs.22.7% over previous financial year which was achieved through manufacturing efficiencies and scale on the operating side.
Our gross profit margins, however, faced downward pressures due to an unprecedented and unexpected price increase of several key raw materials imported from China due to shutdowns of factories on environmental concerns faced by our suppliers. We have tried to make up the margin with productivity improvements. We expect the raw material situation to stabilise in the near future, however as part of risk diversification plan we are actively involved in alternate vendor development for some of our key raw materials.
This impact of the raw material rise is reflected in the margin. The EBITDA margin was 18.9% (last FY: 19.4%). In spite of this our PBT has increased from Rs.833 million to Rs.1,115 million, an increase oRs.33.9%. Our PAT increased from Rs.707 million to Rs.772 million, an increase oRs.9.19%. PAT margins were negatively impacted due to reduction in R&D tax benefits and withdrawal of investment allowance. This resulted in our effective tax rate increasing from 15.1% in the previous financial year to 30.7% in this year. Despite this increase in tax expenses, our EPS has increased from Rs.8.55 to Rs.9.40.
Based on our improved credit rating (ICRA A- from the earlier rating of BBB ) and healthy cash flows generated, we managed to save significantly on the total cost of our finances. We expect our credit rating to further improve this year which should provide us additional benefits on the cost of our borrowings.
We have made considerable capital investments in both our businesses, Pharmaceutical and Crop Protection as well and in Research and Technology. In line with our long-term strategy, we are investing in adding more production capacity for existing as well as new products that are in the pipeline and we expect this trend of Capital expenditure to continue for the next couple of years.
Over the last one year, we have further improved our debt to equity ratio from 0.95 to 0.91 and our interest coverage ratio from 2.75 to 3.27 and our efforts to improve them further are on track.
3. EXPORTS
Exports for the year are Rs.9,115 million (70% of total sales) as compared to Rs.6,612 million (65% of total sales) in the previous year. We have diversified our customer base which includes more local customers who in turn re-export our manufactured products.
4. MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
The Management Discussion and Analysis on the operations of the Company is provided in a separate section and forms a part of the report.
5. BONUS ISSUE
Based on the healthy cash flows of the company and the positive prospects for growth in the near future, the directors have recommended the issuing one bonus share for every two equity shares held. The Bonus issue is subject to approval of the share holders in the ensuing Extra Ordinary General Meeting of the company.
6. DIVIDEND
The Board declared an interim dividend oRs.35% which was paid to shareholders in February 2018 (previous year: 30%), and recommended a final dividend oRs.25% on expanded capital, post bonus issue, thus making total dividend for the year 2017-18 60% (previous year: 60%) .
7. SHARE CAPITAL
The paid-up equity share capital as at 31 March 2018 stood at Rs.164.4 million. During the year under review, the Company has not issued shares with differential voting rights nor granted any stock options or sweat equity. As on 31 March 2018 none of the Directors of the Company hold instruments convertible into equity shares of the Company.
8. EXTRACT OF ANNUAL RETURN
The details forming part of the extract of the annual return in form MGT-9, as required under Section 92 of the Companies Act, 2013, is included in this Report as âAnnexure - Aâ and forms an integral part of this Report.
9. SUBSIDIARY ACCOUNTS
In terms of the approval granted by the Government of India, Ministry of Company Affairs under Section 129 (3) of the Companies Act, 2013, copies of the balance sheet, profit and loss account, directorsâ report and the report of the auditors of the subsidiary company Acoris Research Limited, have not been attached with the balance sheet of the Company. The Company will make available these documents / details upon request made by any shareholder of the Company interested in obtaining the documents / details, and they can also be inspected at the registered office of the Company as well as of the subsidiary. Pursuant to the approval, a statement of the summarized financials of the subsidiary is attached along with the consolidated financial statements. Pursuant to Accounting Standards (Ind AS) - 110 issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, the consolidated financial statements presented by the Company includes the financial information of its subsidiary.
10. DIRECTORS
All Independent Directors have given declarations that they meet the criteria of independence as laid down under Section 149 (6) of the Companies Act, 2013 and Securities and Exchange Board of India (Listing Obligations & Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015.
In accordance with the provisions of Section 152 of the Companies Act, 2013 and the Companyâs Articles of Association, Mrs. Sugandha Hiremath, Director retires by rotation at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting, and being eligible, offers herself for re-appointment.
Mr. Ranjit Shahani was appointed as Additional Director (Independent) of the Company on 8 February 2018.
Prof. Dr. Axel Kleemann resigned from the Board of Directors w.e.f. 5 May 2018. The Board places on record the valuable advice and guidance given by Dr. Kleemann during his tenure.
Details of the number of Board meetings held during 2017-18 form part of the Corporate Governance Report.
11. BOARD EVALUATION
Pursuant to the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013 and Securities and Exchange Board of India (Listing Obligations & Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015, a structured questionnaire was prepared after taking into consideration the various aspects of the Boardâs functioning, like composition of the Board and its Committees, culture, execution and performance of specific duties, obligations and governance.
The performance evaluation of the Independent Directors was completed. The performance evaluation of the Chairman and the Non-independent Directors was carried out by the Independent Directors. The Board of Directors expressed their satisfaction with the evaluation process.
12. WHISTLE BLOWER POLICY
The Company has a whistleblower policy to report genuine concerns or grievances. The whistleblower policy has been posted on the website of the Company (www.hikal.com).
13. NOMINATION AND REMUNERATION POLICY
The Board of Directors has framed a policy which lays down a framework in relation to remuneration of Directors, key managerial personnel and senior management of the Company. The Nomination and Remuneration Policy of the Company is attached as âAnnexure - Fâ to this report. This policy also lays down criteria for selection and appointment of Board members. The details of this policy are explained in the Corporate Governance Report and also put up on the website of the Company (www.hikal.com).
14. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
All related party transactions that were entered into during the financial year were at an armâs length basis and were in the ordinary course of business. There are no materially significant related party transactions made by the Company with promoters, directors, key managerial personnel or other designated persons which may have a potential conflict with the interest of the Company at large.
All related party transactions are placed before the Audit Committee as also the Board for approval.
The policy on Related Party Transactions as approved by the Board is uploaded on the Companyâs website http://www.hikal.com/investors/pdf/Related%20Party%20Policy.pdf
None of the Directors has any pecuniary relationships or transactions vis-a-vis the Company.
15. SIGNIFICANT AND MATERIAL ORDERS PASSED BY THE REGULATORS OR COURTS
There are no significant and material orders passed by the regulators / courts that could impact the going concern status of the Company and its future operations.
16. RISK MANAGEMENT
The Company has a robust business risk management framework in place to identify and evaluate all business risks. The Company recognizes that risk management is a crucial aspect of the management of the Company, and is aware that identification and management of risk effectively is instrumental to achieving its corporate objectives.
The Company has identified the business risks, and the business heads, who are termed as risk owners, assess, monitor and manage these risks on an ongoing basis. The risk owners assess the identified risks and continually identify any new risks that can affect the business. Different risks such as technological, operational, maintenance of quality, reputational, competition, environmental, foreign exchange, financial, human resource, legal compliances among others are assessed on a continuous basis. The Risk Management Committee and Audit Committee review and submit to the Board of Directors their findings in the form of risk register at regular intervals. At the Board meetings, the members have a detailed discussion to assess each risk and the measures that are in place to lower them to acceptable limits.
The strategies are reviewed, discussed and allocation of appropriate resources is done as and when necessary. The risk management program, internal control systems and processes are monitored and updated on an ongoing basis. A built-up mechanism has been established to identify, measure, control, monitor and report the risks. Business heads are responsible for rolling out the risk assessment and management plan within the organization.
17. INTERNAL FINANCIAL CONTROL SYSTEMS AND THEIR ADEQUACY
The Company has an internal financial control system, commensurate with the size, scale and complexity of its operations. To maintain its objectivity and independence, the Internal Audit function reports to the Chairman of the Audit Committee of the Board.
The Internal Audit Department monitors and evaluates the efficacy and adequacy of the internal financial control system in the Company, its compliance with operating systems, accounting procedures and policies at all locations of the Company and its subsidiaries. Based on the report of internal audit function, process owners undertake corrective action in their respective areas and thereby strengthen the controls. Significant audit observations and corrective actions thereon are presented to the Audit Committee of the Board.
The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors actively reviews the adequacy and effectiveness of the internal financial control systems and suggests improvements to strengthen them. The Company has a robust management information system, which is an integral part of the control mechanism.
During the year, a thorough audit of the internal financial controls was carried out by an independent firm of Chartered Accountants.
18. KEY MANAGERIAL PERSONNEL
The Company has appointed the following persons as key managerial personnel.
Mr. Jai Hiremath, Chairman & Managing Director
Mr. Sameer Hiremath, Joint Managing Director & CEO (Whole time Director)
Mr. Sham Wahalekar, Chief Financial Officer & Company Secretary
19. PARTICULARS OF LOANS, GUARANTEES & INVESTMENTS BY THE COMPANY
The details under Section 186 of the Companies Act, 2013 are given in the notes to the financial statements.
20. DIRECTORâS RESPONSIBILITY STATEMENT Your Directors state that:
(i) In the preparation of the annual accounts, the applicable accounting standards read with requirements set out under Schedule III to the Companies Act, 2013 (the Act), have been followed and there are no material departures from the same;
(ii) The Directors have selected such accounting policies and applied them consistently and made judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent so as to give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Company at the end of the financial year ended 31 March 2018 and of the profit of the Company for that year;
(iii) The Directors have taken proper and sufficient care for the maintenance of adequate accounting records in accordance with the provisions of the Act for safeguarding the assets of the Company and for preventing and detecting fraud and other irregularities;
(iv) The annual accounts have been prepared on a going concern basis;
(v) The Directors have laid down internal financial controls to be followed by the Company and that such internal financial controls are adequate and are operating effectively; and
(vi) The Directors have devised a proper system to ensure compliance with the provision of all applicable laws and that such systems are adequate and are operating effectively.
21. AUDITOR
M/s. B S R & Co. LLP Chartered Accountants have been appointed for a term of five years commencing 2014-15 to 2018-19. Members are requested to ratify their appointment for the year 2018-19.
The Auditorâs report to the members on the accounts of the Company for the year ended 31 March, 2018 does not contain any qualifications, adverse or disclaimer remarks.
22. COST AUDITOR
The Company has re-appointed M/s. V J. Talati & Co., as the Cost Auditor to carry out the audit of cost accounts for the financial year 2018-19. The cost audit report for the financial year 2016-17 was filed with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India, on 8 September, 2017.
23. SECRETARIAL AUDITOR
The Board had appointed M/s. Ashish Bhatt & Associates, Practicing Company Secretaries, to conduct a secretarial audit for the financial year 2017-18.
The secretarial audit report for the financial year ended 31 March 2018 is annexed herewith as âAnnexure - Bâ to this Report. The secretarial audit report does not contain any qualifications, reservations or adverse remarks
24. CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR)
The Corporate Social Responsibility Committee (CSR Committee) has formulated and recommended to the Board, a Corporate Social Responsibility Policy (CSR Policy) indicating the activities to be undertaken by the Company, which has been approved by the Board. The CSR Policy may be accessed on the Companyâs website at:http://www.hikal.com/investors/corporate_govemance/pdf/Corporate_Sodal_Responsibility_Policy.pdf
Policy Statement:
As a socially responsible corporate member of the world community with long-term relationships, we believe that the future of our business is best served by respecting the interests of society at large. Through our efforts, we shall strive to improve the living standards of the community. Our CSR activities shall aim to make a difference to the lives of the needy, underprivileged members of society including children, women and senior citizens, and the environment.
The key philosophy of all CSR initiatives of the Company is guided by three core commitments of Scale, Impact and Sustainability. The Company has identified six focus areas of engagement which are as under:
- Health: Affordable solutions for healthcare through improved access, awareness and sanitation
- Education: Access to quality education, training, skill enhancement, enhancement of vocation skills
- Environment: Environmental sustainability, ecological balance, conservation of natural resources
- Protection of national heritage, art and culture: Protection and promotion of traditional art, culture and heritage
- Overall development activities in surrounding areas of Hikalâs manufacturing sites for the benefit of society
- Contribution to Prime Ministerâs National Relief Fund or any other fund set up by the Central Government for socio-economic development or welfare
Implementation of the CSR Program
1. Project activities identified under CSR are to be implemented either by personnel of the Company or through a registered trust or a registered society.
2. The time duration of each project / program shall depend on its nature and intended impact.
The Company will also undertake other need-based initiatives in compliance with Schedule VII of the Act. During the year, the Company has spent Rs.12.02 million on CSR activities. Pursuant to the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013, the Company should have spent Rs.11.98 million (being 2% of the average net profits of the last three financial years), during the financial year 2017-18.
The Annual Report on CSR activities is annexed herewith marked as âAnnexure - Câ.
25. SAFETY &ENVIRONMENT
The Company continued to maintain the highest standards in environment, health and safety. The Company has become the first Indian life sciences company to receive the Responsible Care certification. It is applicable to all manufacturing and research sites of the Company. Continuous training and awareness programs for the employees are undertaken on a frequent basis.
26. PUBLIC DEPOSITS
The Company has not accepted any deposits and as such there are no overdue deposits outstanding as on 31 March 2018.
27. EMPLOYEES
The Company considers its human capital as an invaluable asset. The Company continued to have cordial relationships with all its employees. Management and employee development programs and exercises were conducted at all sites. Employees had various team building exercises and were sponsored for various external seminars and other developmental programs to enhance their skill sets. The total workforce of the Company stood at 1,405 as on 31 March 2018.
As required by the provisions of Section 197 (12) of the Companies Act, 2013, read with Rule 5 (1) of the Companies (Appointment and Remuneration of Management Personnel) Rules, 2014, as amended, from time to time, is enclosed herewith as âAnnexure - Dâ.
The statement containing particulars of employees as required under Section 197 (12) of the Companies Act, 2013 read with Rule 5 (2) of the Companies (Appointment and Remuneration of Managerial Personnel) Rules, 2014 forms part of this report. Further, the report and the financial statements are being sent to the members, excluding the aforesaid statement. In terms of Section 136 of the Companies Act, 2013, the said statement is open for inspection by the members at the registered office of the Company during business hours on working days of the Company up to the date of the ensuing Annual General Meeting. Any member interested in obtaining such particulars may write to the Company Secretary at the registered office of the Company.
28. CONSERVATION OF ENERGY, RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT, TECHNOLOGY ABSORPTION AND FOREIGN EXCHANGE EARNINGS AND OUTGO
In accordance with the requirements of Section 134 (3) (m) of the Companies Act, 2013, read with rule 8 (3) of the Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014, a statement showing particulars with respect to conservation of energy technology absorption and foreign earnings and outgo forming part of the Directorsâ Report, is given in the enclosed âAnnexure- Eâ which forms part of this report.
29. CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
A report on Corporate Governance along with a certificate from the Auditors of the Company regarding the compliance of the code of Corporate Governance as also the Management Discussion and Analysis Report as stipulated under the provisions of Regulation 34 of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Listing Obligations & Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015 are annexed to this Report.
30. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Board of Directors place on record their appreciation of the contribution and sincere support extended to the Company by our bankers, financial institutions and valued customers and suppliers.
The Board also places on record its appreciation for the impeccable service and generous efforts rendered by its employees at all levels, across the Board towards the overall growth and success of the Company.
31. CAUTIONARY STATEMENT
Statements in the Boardâs Report and the Management Discussion and Analysis describing the Companyâs objectives, expectations or forecasts may be forward-looking within the meaning of applicable securities laws and regulations. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed in the statement. Important factors that could influence the Companyâs operations include global and domestic demand and supply conditions affecting selling prices of finished goods, input availability and prices, changes in government regulations, tax laws, economic developments within the country and other factors such as litigation and industrial relations.
For and on behalf of the Board of Directors
Jai Hiremath
Date : 9 May 2018 Chairman & Managing Director
Place : Mumbai DIN:00062203
Mar 31, 2017
The Directors are pleased to present the 29th Annual Report with the Audited Accounts for the financial year ended 31 March 2017.
Rs, in Millions
1. FINANCIAL RESULTS |
||
2016-17 |
2015-16 |
|
Turnover |
10,139 |
9,257 |
Profit before interest and depreciation |
2,019 |
1,828 |
Interest |
498 |
622 |
Profit before depreciation |
1,521 |
1,206 |
Depreciation |
691 |
673 |
Profit before taxation |
829 |
533 |
Provision for taxation |
||
- Current tax |
216 |
118 |
- Less MAT tax credit |
(84) |
(13) |
- Deferred tax liability/(assets) |
29 |
15 |
Profit after tax |
668 |
413 |
Reserves and surplus |
6,048 |
5,485 |
Dividend on equity share |
49 |
82 |
Tax on dividend |
10 |
17 |
Transfer to general reserve |
100 |
50 |
2. COMPANY PERFORMANCE
Hikal has achieved a significant milestone by generating Rs, 10,000 million in revenue. Our total revenue grew by 10% to Rs,10,139 million over the last year. The growth was mainly contributed by the Crop Protection division which grew by 15%, and the Pharmaceuticals division which grew by 6%. The growth in both the divisions was driven by higher off take of our products. Increased demand from our customers, along with launch of new products, has set a positive trend forth years to come.
Based on the current demand of our customers, we expect business to improve in both the Pharmaceutical and Crop Protection divisions. Our EBITDA is up by 10% to Rs, 2,019 million mainly due to increase in sales volumes to our customers.
We continue our cost rationalization initiatives introduced last year, which will help us to maintain our current margins with scope for improving it in coming years. For our working capital management, we have instituted strict norms over the last year which have shown results in the form of lower net operating working capital days as compared to the previous year.
Depreciation for the year increased marginally to Rs, 691 million from Rs, 673 million last year. During the year, gross fixed assets increased by Rs, 1,093 million due to an increase in capital assets (buildings, plants and equipment) in the Crop Protection and Pharmaceuticals divisions. Investments in our Crop Protection division were mainly to create a facility for a new product for a multinational company, increase capacity and to set up a new development and launch plant at Jigani, Bangalore. Apart from these efforts, we continue to invest in debottlenecking initiatives across our sites to improve performance and increase manufacturing capacity on an ongoing basis.
Our financing cost has reduced to Rs, 498 million vs. Rs, 622 million last year mainly due to replacing the high cost borrowings and reduction in interest rates and management of working capital. Our total debt outstanding as on 31 March 2017 was Rs, 5,062 million vs. Rs, 5,049 million on 31 March 2016, which has increased marginally due to fresh borrowing for capex. Our debt / equity ratio has improved to 0.81 vs. 0.89 last year. Last year, we worked on our debt consolidation program and consolidated our debt with fewer banks which helped us to lower our blended rate of interest.
The tax expense increased from Rs, 120 million to Rs, 161 million.
Our operational net profit after tax on a YoY basis has increased by 62% to Rs, 668 million.
As part of our sustainability strategy, we will be introducing several new products every year. Our product pipeline will enable us to introduce two new products in the near term (one to two years), two products in the medium term (three to five years) and two products in the long term (five years). The pipeline will be replenished every year with new products coming on stream, non-performing and lower margin products being replaced on a continual basis. This strategy will enable us to increase our product offerings and reduce our dependence on several legacy products, thereby de-risking the business. In crop protection, our target is to develop our own products which will help us to lower our dependency on some of our key contract manufactured molecules, the demand for which sometimes is very volatile and cyclical.
With a marginal improvement in the current environment, we were able to increase our revenues and maintain a healthy EBITDA margin of 20% along with lowering our working capital. The debt consolidation exercise helped us strengthen our balance sheet. With new products in our product pipeline, we are poised to reap the benefits of our capital investments.
The Company has consolidated its R&D operations at its Pune R&D Centre in the past two years. During the year, the Company sold the R&D unit at Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore.
Our long-term business strategy is being executed according to our plan. We strengthened our business development teams for the Crop Protection and Pharmaceutical divisions. Our primary objective is to develop a robust and diversified product mix of commercialized products. We recruited suitable talent for the Company to ensure that we will meet our future goals of profitable, sustainable growth. Our development product portfolio across both divisions is being commercialized, which will enable a larger throughput of products which contribute to the revenue stream.
The Board of Directors has recommended a dividend of 60% as compared to 50% for the previous year.
3. EXPORTS
Exports for the year are Rs, 6,612 million (65%of total sales) as compared to Rs, 7,317 million (79% of total sales) in the previous year. We have diversified our customer base which includes more local customers who in turn re-export our manufactured products.
4. MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
The Management Discussion and Analysis on the operations of the company is provided in a separate section and forms a part of the report.
5. DIVIDEND
The Board declared an interim dividend of 30% which was paid to shareholders in February 2017 (previous year: 25%) and a final dividend of 60% including the interim dividend for the year (previous year: 50%) has been recommended for the year 2016-17. During the year, your Company has transferred Rs, 100 million to the General Reserve.
6. SHARE CAPITAL
The paid up Equity Share Capital as at 31 March 2017 stood at Rs, 164.4 million. During the year under review, the Company has not issued shares with differential voting rights nor granted any stock options or sweat equity. As on 31 March 2017, none of the Directors of the Company hold instruments convertible into equity shares of the Company.
7. EXTRACT OF ANNUAL RETURN
The details forming part of the extract of the Annual Return in form MGT-9, as required under Section 92 of the Companies Act, 2013, is included in this Report as âAnnexure - Aâ and forms an integral part of this Report.
8. SUBSIDIARY ACCOUNTS
In terms of the approval granted by the Government of India, Ministry of Company Affairs under Section 129 (3) of the Companies Act, 2013, copies of the balance sheet, profit and loss account, directors'' report and the report of the auditors of the subsidiary company Acoris Research Limited, have not been attached with the balance sheet of the Company. The Company has sold its stake in Hikal International B.V. in the month of December 2016. The Company will make available these documents/details upon request made by any shareholder of the Company interested in obtaining the documents/details and they can also be inspected at the registered office of the Company as well as of the subsidiary. Pursuant to the approval, a statement of the summarized financials of the subsidiary is attached along with the consolidated financial statements. Pursuant to Accounting Standard (AS) -21 issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, the Consolidated Financial Statements presented by the Company include the financial information of its subsidiary.
9. DIRECTORS
All Independent Directors have given declarations that they meet the criteria of independence as laid down under Section 149 (6) of the Companies Act, 2013 and Securities and Exchange Board of India (Listing Obligations & Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015.
In accordance with the provisions of Section 152 of the Companies Act, 2013 and the Company''s Articles of Association, Mr. Amit Kalyani, Director retires by rotation at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting and being eligible offers himself for re-appointment.
Details of the number of Board meetings held during 2016-17 forms part of the Corporate Governance Report.
10. BOARD EVALUATION
Pursuant to the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013 and Securities and Exchange Board of India (Listing Obligations & Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015, a structured questionnaire was prepared after taking into consideration the various aspects of the Board''s functioning, like composition of the Board and its Committees, culture, execution and performance of specific duties, obligations and governance.
The performance evaluation of the Independent Directors was completed on the basis of criterion such as qualification, experience, knowledge, skills, professional achievements etc. The performance evaluation of the Chairman and the Non-Independent Directors was carried out by the Independent Directors. The Board of Directors expressed their satisfaction with the evaluation process.
11. WHISTLE BLOWER POLICY
The Company has a whistle blower policy to report genuine concerns or grievances. The whistle blower policy has been posted on the website of the Company (www.hikal.com).
12. REMUNERATION AND NOMINATION POLICY
The Board of Directors has framed a policy which lays down a framework in relation to remuneration of Directors, Key Managerial Personnel and Senior Management of the Company. This policy also lays down criteria for selection and appointment of Board members. The details of this policy are explained in the Corporate Governance Report and is also put up on the website of the Company (www.hikal.com).
13. RELATED PARTYTRANSACTIONS
All related party transactions that were entered into during the financial year were at an arm''s length basis and were in the ordinary course of business. There are no materially significant related party transactions made by the Company with Promoters, Directors, Key Managerial Personnel or other designated persons which may have a potential conflict with the interest of the Company at large.
All Related Party Transactions are placed before the Audit Committee as also the Board for approval.
During the year under review, a relative of the Directors was reappointed to a place of profit for which shareholders'' approval was obtained byway of postal ballot, the result of which was announced on 12 January 2017.
The policy on Related Party Transactions as approved by the Board is uploaded on the Company''s website http://www.hikal.com/investors/pdf/Related%20Party%20Policy.pdf None of the Directors has any pecuniary relationships or transactions vis-a-vis the Company.
14. SIGNIFICANT AND MATERIAL ORDERS PASSED BYTHE REGULATORS OR COURTS
There are no significant and material orders passed by the Regulators/Courts that could impact the going concern status of the Company and its future operations.
15. RISK MANAGEMENT
The Company has a robust business risk management framework in place to identify and evaluate all business risks. The company recognizes that risk management is a crucial aspect of the management of the Company and is aware that identification and management of risk effectively is instrumental to achieving its corporate objectives. The Company has identified the business risks and the business heads who are termed as risk owners, assess, monitor and manage these risks on an ongoing basis. The risk owners assess the identified risks and continually identify any new risks that can affect the business. Different risks such as technological, operational, maintenance of quality, reputational, competition, environmental, foreign exchange, financial, human resource, legal compliances among others are assessed on a continuous basis. The Risk Management Committee and Audit Committee review and submit to the Board of Directors their findings in the form of risk register at regular intervals. At the Board meetings, the members have a detailed discussion to assess each risk and the measures that are in place to lower them to acceptable limits.
The strategies are reviewed, discussed and allocation of appropriate resources is done as and when necessary. The risk management program, internal control systems and processes are monitored and updated on an ongoing basis. A built-up mechanism has been established to identify, measure, control, monitor and report the risks. Business heads are responsible for rolling out the risk assessment and management plan within the organization.
16. INTERNAL FINANCIAL CONTROL SYSTEMS AND THEIR ADEQUACY
The Company has an Internal Control System, commensurate with the size, scale and complexity of its operations. To maintain its objectivity and independence, the Internal Audit function reports to the Chairman of the Audit Committee of the Board.
The Internal Audit Department monitors and evaluates the efficacy and adequacy of the internal control system in the Company, its compliance with operating systems, accounting procedures and policies at all locations of the Company and its subsidiaries. Based on the report of internal audit function, process owners undertake corrective action in their respective areas and thereby strengthen the controls. Significant audit observations and corrective actions thereon are presented to the Audit Committee of the Board.
The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors actively reviews them, adequacy and effectiveness of the internal control systems and suggests improvements to strengthen them. The Company has a robust Management Information System, which is an integral part of the control mechanism.
During the year, a thorough audit of the internal financial controls was carried out by an independent firm of Chartered Accountants.
17. KEY MANAGERIAL PERSONNEL
The Company has appointed the following persons as Key Managerial Personnel.
Mr. Jai Hiremath, Chairman &Managing Director
Mr. Sameer Hiremath, President & Joint Managing Director (Whole Time Director)
Mr. ShamWahalekar, Chief Financial Officer & Company Secretary
18. PARTICULARS OF LOANS, GUARANTEES & INVESTMENTS BYTHE COMPANY
The details under Section 186 of the Companies Act, 2013 are given in the notes to the financial statements.
19. DIRECTOR''S RESPONSIBILITY STATEMENT
Your Directors state that:
(i) In the preparation of the annual accounts, the applicable accounting standards read with requirements set out under Schedule III to the Companies Act, 2013 (the Act), have been followed and there are no material departures from the same;
ii) The Directors have selected such accounting policies and applied them consistently and made judgments and estimates that are reasonable and prudent so as to give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Company at the end of the financial year ended 31 March 2017 and of the profit of the Company for that year;
(iii) The Directors have taken proper and sufficient care for the maintenance of adequate accounting records in accordance with the provisions of the Act for safeguarding the assets of the Company and for preventing and detecting fraud and other irregularities;
(iv) The annual accounts have been prepared on going concern basis;
(v) The Directors have laid down internal financial controls to be followed by the Company and that such internal financial controls are adequate and are operating effectively; and
(vi) The Directors have devised a proper system to ensure compliance with the provision of all applicable laws and that such systems are adequate and are operating effectively.
20. AUDITOR
M/s. B S R & Co. LLP Chartered Accountants have been appointed for a term of five years commencing 2014-15 to 2018-19. Members are requested to ratify their appointment for the year 2017-18.
The Auditor''s report to the members on the accounts of the Company for the year ended 31 March 2017 does not contain any qualifications, adverse or disclaimer remarks.
21. COST AUDITOR
The Company has re-appointed M/s.V. J.Talati &Co., as the Cost Auditor to carry out the audit of Cost Accounts for the financial year 2017-18. The Cost Audit report for the financial year 2015-16 was filed with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India on 12 September 2016.
22. SECRETARIAL AUDITOR
The Board has appointed M/s. Ashish Bhatt & Associates, Practicing Company Secretaries, to conduct a Secretarial Audit for the financial year 2016-17.
The Secretarial Audit Report for the financial year ended 31 March 2017 is annexed herewith as Annexure - Bâ to this Report. The Secretarial Audit Report does not contain any qualifications, reservations or adverse remarks.
23. CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR)
The Corporate Social Responsibility Committee (CSR Committee) has formulated and recommended to the Board, a Corporate Social Responsibility Policy (CSR Policy) indicating the activities to be undertaken by the Company, which has been approved by the Board. The CSR Policy may be accessed on the Company''s website at:
http://www.hikal.com/investors/corporate_governance/pdf/Corporate_Social_Responsibility_Policy.pdf
Policy Statement:
As a socially responsible corporate member of the world community, with long term relationships, we believe that the future of our business is best served by respecting the interests of society at large. Through our efforts, we shall strive to improve the living standards of the community. Our CSR activities shall aim to make a difference to the lives of the needy, under privileged members of society including children, women and senior citizens and the environment.
The key philosophy of all CSR initiatives of the Company is guided by three core commitments of Scale, Impact and Sustainability. The Company has identified six focus areas of engagement which are as under:
- Health: Affordable solutions for healthcare through improved access, awareness and sanitation
- Education: Access to quality education, training, skill enhancement, enhancement of vocation skills
- Environment: Environmental sustainability, ecological balance, conservation of natural resources
- Protection of National Heritage, Art and Culture: Protection and promotion of traditional art, culture and heritage
- Overall development activities in surrounding areas of Hikal''s manufacturing sites for the benefit of society
- Contribution to Prime Minister''s National Relief Fund or any other fund set up by the Central Government for socio-economic development or welfare
Implementation of the CSR Program
1. Project activities identified under CSR are to be implemented either by personnel of the Company or through a registered trust or a registered society.
2. The time duration of each project / program shall depend on its nature and intended impact.
The Company will also undertake other need based initiatives in compliance with Schedule VII of the Act. During the year, the Company has spent Rs, 13.96 million on CSR activities. Pursuant to the provisions of the Companies Act 2013, the Company should have spent Rs, 13.07 million (being 2% of the average net profits of the last three financial years), during the financial year2016-17.
The Annual Report on CSR activities is annexed herewith marked as Annexure- Câ.
24. SAFETY &ENVIRONMENT
The Company continued to maintain the highest standards in environment, health and safety. The Company has become the first Indian life sciences Company to receive the Responsible Care certification. It is applicable to all manufacturing and research sites of the Company. Continuous training and awareness programs for the employees are undertaken on a frequent basis.
25. PUBLIC DEPOSITS
The Company has not accepted any deposits and as such there are no overdue deposits outstanding as on 31 March 2017.
26. EMPLOYEES
The Company considers its human capital as an invaluable asset. The Company continued to have cordial relationships with all its employees. Management and employee development programs and exercises were conducted at all sites. Employees had various team building exercises and were sponsored for various external seminars and other developmental programs to enhance their skill sets. The total workforce of the Company stood at 1319 as on 31 March 2017.
As required by the provisions of Section 197 (12) of the Companies Act, 2013, read with Rule 5 (1) of the Companies (Appointment and Remuneration of Management Personnel) Rules, 2014, as amended, from time to time, is enclosed herewith as âAnnexure - Dâ
The statement containing particulars of employees as required under Section 197(12) of the Companies Act, 2013 read with Rule 5(2) of the Companies (Appointment and Remuneration of Managerial Personnel) Rules, 2014 forms part of this report. Further, the report and the financial statements are being sent to the members excluding the aforesaid statement. In terms of Section 136 of the Companies Act, 2013, the said statement is open for inspection by the member at the registered office of the Company during business hours on working days of the Company up to the date of ensuing Annual General Meeting. Any member interested in obtaining such particulars may write to the Company Secretary at the registered office of the Company.
27. CONSERVATION OF ENERGY, RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT, TECHNOLOGY ABSORPTION AND FOREIGN EXCHANGE EARNINGS AND OUTGO
In accordance with the requirements of Section 134 (3) (m) of the Companies Act, 2013, read with rule 8 (3) of the Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014, a statement showing particulars with respect to conservation of energy, technology absorption and foreign earnings and outgo forming part of the Directors'' Report, is given in the enclosed âAnnexure -Eâ which forms part of this report.
28. CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
A report on Corporate Governance along with a certificate from the Auditors of the Company regarding the compliance of the code of Corporate Governance as also the Management Discussion and Analysis Report as stipulated under the provisions of Regulation 34 of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Listing Obligations & Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015 are annexed to this Report.
29. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Board of Directors place on record their appreciation of the contribution and sincere support extended to the Company by our bankers, financial institutions and valued customers and suppliers.
The Board also places on record its appreciation for the impeccable service and generous efforts rendered by its employees at all levels, across the Board towards the overall growth and success of the Company.
30. CAUTIONARY STATEMENT
Statements in the Board''s Report and the Management Discussion and Analysis describing the Company''s objectives, expectations or forecasts may be forward-looking within the meaning of applicable securities laws and regulations. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed in the statement. Important factors that could influence the Company''s operations include global and domestic demand and supply conditions affecting selling prices of finished goods, input availability and prices, changes in government regulations, tax laws, economic developments within the country and other factors such as litigation and industrial relations.
For and on behalf of the Board of Directors
Jai Hiremath
Date : 10 May2017 Chairman & Managing Director
Place : Mumbai DIN:00062203
Mar 31, 2015
Dear Members,
The Directors are pleased to present the 27th Annual Report with the
Audited Accounts for the financial year ended March 31,2015.
Rs in Millions
1. FINANCIAL RESULTS
2014-15 2013-14
Turnover 8,719 8,292
Operating profit before interest 1.841 1,883
Interest 600 680
Profit before depreciation 1,241 1,203
Depreciation 642 550
Exceptional Income - 331
Profit before taxation 599 983
Provision for taxation
- Current tax 218 208
- Less MAT tax credit - (105)
- Deferred tax liability/(assets) (24) 239
Profit after tax 405 641
Reserves and surplus 5,170 4,895
Dividend on equity share 82 74
Tax on dividend 17 13
Transfer to general reserve 50 100
COMPANY'S PERFORMANCE
Hikal's total revenue grew to Rs 8,719 million, a 5% increase over the
last year. The growth was driven by a 13% increase in the
pharmaceutical division with higher offtake of our key products. We
expect growth in the pharmaceutical division to continue in the future.
The pharmaceutical division registered a 28% increase in volume year on
year. However, fierce competition in our product segments led to price
erosion of some of our key products which offset the volume gain we
experienced. Pricing for some of our key products is expected to
stabilize in the coming year which will help arrest the drop in
margins. We will de-risk some of the portfolio with the introduction of
new products this year.
In the crop protection division, there was erosion in volume as well as
value primarily caused by inventory cuts by our major clients. Volume
was down by 6% as compared to the previous year. Sales were down by 5%,
which partially offset the gain in the pharmaceutical division. The
agricultural industry is experiencing a downturn after having several
years of high single digit growth. We expect impact to reverse itself
in the second half of the current financial year. We are working
towards diversifying our product portfolio and customer base which
would ease the effects of the global downturn. Our EBITDA margin was
down by 2% Rs 1,841 million due to lower pricing for increased volumes
as well as increased pricing competition. In this challenging market,
we still operate at a healthy EBITDA margin of 21%. We introduced
several cost rationalization initiatives in the current year. Cost
savings from our co-generation plant, purchasing power at discounted
tariffs and process improvements will protect our margins going
forward. We have instituted strict working capital norms which will
help free up cash reserves and reduce our overall working capital
costs.
Depreciation was higher at Rs 642 million from Rs 550 million last year
due to capitalization of additional assets in the pharmaceutical and
R&D divisions. Significant investments were made to debottleneck and
increase capacities of some of our manufacturing plants.
During the year, gross fixed assets increased by Rs 640 million due to
an increase in capital assets (buildings, plants and equipment) in the
pharmaceutical division and R&D. We invested a significant amount of
money to set up our new development and launch plant and a
co-generation plant at Jigani, Bangalore. We also invested in several
de- bottlenecking initiatives across our sites.
Our financing cost was lower at Rs 600 million vs. Rs 680 million last
year due to a reduction in the outstanding long term debt. Our total
debt outstanding as on March 31,2015 was Rs 5,471 million, slightly up
from Rs 5,458 million on March 31,2014. Our debt/equity ratio has
improved to 0.81 vs. 0.93 last year. We expect to further improve our
financial leverage with repayments scheduled this year. We are actively
working on strengthening our balance sheet.
The tax expense decreased from Rs 342 million to Rs 193 million this
year due to tax on exceptional income last year (one time sale of ESOP
shares as per SEBI rules).
Our operational net profit after tax was down by 4% YOY at Rs 405
million.
Hikal has undertaken several measures to ensure sustainability in the
short as well as long term. We filed two DMFs for which products are
expected to be commercialized during the year. We plan to file five to
six DMFs every year for products that have significant commercial
potential. It will increase our product portfolio and reduce our
dependence on several legacy products. It will also help us phase out
saturated products with declining margins. In crop protection, we
aspire to grow our proprietary products to safeguard our division from
volatile demand for some of our key contract manufactured molecules.
This year we refined our business strategy. We strengthened our
business development teams for crop protection as well as the
pharmaceutical divisions. Our primary objective is to develop a robust
and diversified product pipeline mix of commercialized products. We
recruited talent for R&D and set up new labs in allied but new business
areas such as steroids. We debottlenecked our scale up facilities last
year with the addition of a development and launch plant in Jigani
which will enable a larger throughput of products from development into
commercialization.
In a challenging environment, we increased our revenues and achieved a
healthy EBITDA margin of 21%. We are well positioned to reap the
benefits of our capital investments and benefit from our product
pipeline. The Board of Directors has recommended a dividend of 50% as
against 45% last year.
2. EXPORTS
Exports for the year is Rs 6,890 millions (79%of total sales) as
compared to Rs 7,056 millions (85% of total sales) in the previous
year. We have diversified our customers base which include more local
customers who in turn re-export our manufactured products.
3. MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
The Management Discussion and Analysis on the operations of the company
is provided in a separate section and forms a part of the report.
4. DIVIDEND
The Board had recommended an interim dividend of 25% (previous
year:20%) and a final dividend of 50% including the interim dividend
for the year (previous year:45%). During the year your Company has
transferred Rs 50 Million to General Reserve.
5. SHARE CAPITAL
The paid up Equity Share Capital as at March 31,2015 stood at Rs 16.44
crores. During the year under review, the Company has not issued shares
with differential voting rights nor has granted any stock options or
sweat equity. As on March 31,2015, none of the Directors of the
Company hold instruments convertible into equity shares of the Company.
The Board of Directors in their meeting held on December 17, 2014
approved the sub -division of each fully paid equity share of the face
value of INR 10/- into 5 (five) equity shares of face value of INR 2/-
each fully paid up and the consequent amendment to the clause V of the
memorandum of association & clause 3 of the articles of association of
the company. Shareholders' approval by way of special resolution was
obtained through postal ballot the result of which was declared on
February 16, 2015.
6. EXTRACT OF ANNUAL RETURN
The details forming part of the extract of the Annual Return in form
MGT-9, as required under Section 92 of the Companies Act, 2013, is
included in this Report as Annexure - D and forms an integral part of
this Report.
7. SUBSIDIARY ACCOUNTS
In terms of the approval granted by the Government of India, Ministry
of Company Affairs under Section 129(3) of the Companies Act, 1956,
copies of the Balance Sheet, Profit and Loss Account, Directors' Report
and the Report of the Auditors of the subsidiary companies viz., Hikal
International B.V and Acoris Research Limited have not been attached
with the Balance Sheet of the company. The company will make available
these documents / details upon request made by any shareholder of the
company interested in obtaining the same and the same can also be
inspected at the Registered Office of the company as well as of the
subsidiaries. Pursuant to the approval, a statement of the summarized
financials of all the subsidiaries is attached along with the
Consolidated Financial Statements. Pursuant to Accounting Standard (AS)
- 21 issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India,
Consolidated Financial Statements presented by the company includes the
financial information of its subsidiaries.
8. DIRECTORS
During the year under review, the Company appointed Mr. Shivkumar
Kheny, Dr. Wolfgang Welter and Dr. Axel Kleemann as Independent
Directors of the Company with effect from May 5, 2015 for a period of
three consecutive years.
All Independent Directors have given declarations that they meet the
criteria of independence as laid down under Section 149(6) of the
Companies Act, 2013 and Clause 49 of the Listing Agreement.
In accordance with the provisions of Section 152 of the Companies Act,
2013 and the Company's Articles of Association, Mrs. Sugandha Hiremath,
Director retires by rotation at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting
and being eligible offers herself for re-appointment.
During the year under review, Dr. Peter Pollak retired as a Director of
the Company with effect from September 12, 2014. The Board places on
record its appreciation for the services rendered by Dr. Peter Pollak
during his tenure as a Director.
Details of number of Board meeting held during 2014-15 forms part of
Corporate Governance Report.
9. BOARD EVALUATION
Pursuant to the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013 and Clause 49 of
the Listing Agreement, a structured questionnaire was prepared after
taking into consideration the various aspects of the Board's
functioning like composition of the Board and its Committees, culture,
execution and performance of specific duties, obligations and
governance.
The performance evaluation of the Independent Directors was completed.
The performance evaluation of the Chairman and the Non-Independent
Directors was carried out by the Independent Directors. The Board of
Directors expressed their satisfaction with the evaluation process.
10. WHISTLE BLOWER POLICY
The Company has a whistle blower policy to report genuine concerns or
grievances. The Whistle Blower policy has been posted on the website of
the Company (www.hikal.com).
11. REMUNERATION AND NOMINATION POLICY
The Board of Directors has framed a policy which lays down a framework
in relation to remuneration of Directors, Key Managerial Personnel and
Senior Management of the Company. This policy also lays down criteria
for selection and appointment of Board Members. The details of this
policy is explained in the Corporate Governance Report.
12. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
All related party transactions that were entered into during the
financial year were on an arm's length basis and were in the ordinary
course of business. There are no materially significant related party
transactions made by the Company with Promoters, Directors, Key
Managerial Personnel or other designated persons which may have a
potential conflict with the interest of the Company at large.
All Related Party Transactions are placed before the Audit Committee as
also the Board for approval. Prior omnibus approval of the Audit
Committee is obtained on a quarterly basis for the transactions which
are of a foreseen and repetitive nature. The transactions entered into
pursuant to the omnibus approval so granted are audited and a statement
giving details of all related party transaction is placed before the
Audit Committee and the Board of Directors for their approval on a
quarterly basis
The policy on Related Party Transactions as approved by the Board is
uploaded on the Company's website.
None of the Directors has any pecuniary relationships or transactions
vis-a-vis the Company.
13. SIGNIFICANT AND MATERIAL ORDERS PASSED BY THE REGULATORS OR COURTS
There are no significant and material orders passed by the
Regulators/Courts that would impact the going concern status of the
Company and its future operations.
14. RISK MANAGEMENT
Company has a robust business risk management framework in place to
identify and evaluate all business risks. The company recognizes that
risk management is a crucial aspect of the management of the Company
and is aware that identification & management of risk effectively is
instrumental to achieving its corporate objectives.
The Company has identified the business risks and the business heads
who are termed as risk owners assess, monitor and manage these risks on
an ongoing basis. The risk owners assess the identified risks and
continuously identify any new risks that can affect the business.
Different risks such as technological, operational, maintenance of
quality, reputational, competition, environmental, foreign exchange,
financial, human resource, legal compliances among others are assessed
on continuous basis. The risk management committee and audit committee
review and submit to the Board of Directors their finding in the form
of risk register at regular intervals. At the Board meetings, the
committee has a detailed discussion to assess each risk and the
measures that are in place to bring them to acceptable limits.
The strategies are reviewed, discussed and allocation of appropriate
resources is done as and when necessary. The risk management
programme, internal control systems and processes are monitored and
updated on an ongoing basis. A built mechanism has been established to
identify, measure, control, monitor and report the risks. Business
heads are responsible for rolling out the risk assessment and
management plan within entire organisation.
15. INTERNAL CONTROL SYSTEMS AND THEIR ADEQUACY
The Company has an Internal Control System, commensurate with the size,
scale and complexity of its operations. To maintain its objectivity
and independence, the Internal Audit function reports to the Chairman
of the Audit Committee of the Board.
The Internal Audit Department monitors and evaluates the efficacy and
adequacy of internal control system in the Company, its compliance with
operating systems, accounting procedures and policies at all locations
of the company and its subsidiaries. Based on the report of internal
audit function, process owners undertake corrective action in their
respective areas and thereby strengthen the controls. Significant audit
observations and corrective actions thereon are presented to the Audit
Committee of the Board.
The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors actively reviews the
adequacy and effectiveness of the internal control systems and suggests
improvements to strengthen the same. The Company has a robust
Management Information System, which is an integral part of the control
mechanism.
16. KEY MANAGERIAL PERSONNEL
During the year, the Company appointed/ designated the following
persons as Key Managerial Personnel.
Mr. Jai Hiremath, Chairman & Managing Director
Mr. Sameer Hiremath, President & Joint Managing Director (Whole Time
Director)
Mr. Sham Wahalekar, Chief Financial Officer & Company Secretary
17. PARTICULARS OF LOANS, GUARANTEES & INVESTMENTS BY THE COMPANY
The details under section 186 of the Companies Act, 2013 are given in
the notes to the financial statements.
18. DIRECTOR'S RESPONSIBILITY STATEMENT
Your Directors state that:
(i) In the preparation of the annual accounts, the applicable
accounting standards read with requirements set out under Schedule III
to the Act, have been followed and there are no material departures
from the same;
(ii) The Directors have selected such accounting policies and applied
them consistently and made judgments and estimates that are reasonable
and prudent so as to give a true and fair view of the state of affairs
of the company at the end of the financial year ended March 31,2015 and
of the profit of the company for that year;
(iii) The Directors have taken proper and sufficient care for the
maintenance of adequate accounting records in accordance with the
provisions of the Act for safeguarding the assets of the company and
for preventing and detecting fraud and other irregularities;
(iv) The annual accounts have been prepared on a going concern basis;
(v) The Directors have laid down internal financial controls to be
followed by the Company and that such internal financial controls are
adequate and are operating effectively; and
(vi) The Directors have devised a proper system to ensure compliance
with the provision of all applicable laws and that such systems are
adequate and are operating effectively.
19. AUDITOR
M/s B S R & Co. LLP Chartered Accountants is the retiring auditor,
offer themselves for re-appointment
20. COST AUDITOR
The company has re-appointed Prof. VJ.Talati of VJ.Talati & Co., as the
Cost Auditor to carry out the audit of Cost Accounts for the financial
year 2015-16. The Cost Audit report for the financial year 2013-14 was
filed with Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India on
September 24, 2014.
21. SECRETARIAL AUDITOR
The Board has appointed Ms. Ashish Bhatt & Associates, Practising
Company Secretaries, to conduct Secretarial Audit for the financial
year 2014-15.
The Secretarial Audit Report for the financial year ended March 31,2015
is annexed herewith marked as Annexure B to this Report. The
Secretarial Audit Report does not contain any qualification,
reservation or adverse remark.
22. CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR)
The Corporate Social Responsibility Committee (CSR Committee) has
formulated and recommended to the Board, a Corporate Social
Responsibility Policy (CSR Policy) indicating the activities to be
undertaken by the Company, which has been approved by the Board. The
CSR Policy may be accessed on the Company's website at the below link:
http://www.hikal.com/investors/pdf/Corporate Social Responsibility.pdf
Policy Statement
As a socially responsible corporate member of the world community, with
long enduring relationships we believe that the future of our business
is best served by respecting the interests of the Society at
large.Through our efforts we shall strive to improve the living
standards of the surrounding community. Our CSR activities shall aim to
bring a difference in the lives of the needy, under privileged persons
of the society including children, women and senior citizens and the
environment.
The key philosophy of all CSR initiatives of the Company is guided by
three core commitments of Scale, Impact and Sustainability. The Company
has identified six focus areas of engagement which are as under:
* Health: Affordable solutions for healthcare through improved access,
awareness and sanitation
* Education: Access to quality education, training, skill enhancement,
enhancement of vocation skills
* Environment: Environmental sustainability, ecological balance,
conservation of natural resources
* Protection of National Heritage, Art and Culture: Protection and
promotion of traditional art, culture and heritage
* Overall development activities in surrounding areas of Hikal's
manufacturing sites for the benefit of the society
* Contribution to Prime Minister's National Relief Fund or any other
fund set up by the Central Government for socio economic development or
welfare
Implementation of the CSR Program
1. Project activities identified under CSR are to be implemented
either by personnel of the Company or through registered trust or a
registered society.
2. The time duration of each project / program shall depend on its
nature and intended impact.
The Company would also undertake other need based initiatives in
compliance with Schedule VII to the Act. During the year, the Company
has spent '0.87 Million on CSR activities. Pursuant to the provisions
of the Companies Act 2013, the Company should have spent Rs 12.8
Million (being 2% of the average net profits of last three financial
years), during the financial year 2014-15. Your Company has taken
progressive steps to formulate a policy, identified the activities and
is confident of spending the stipulated amount on selected programs in
near future along with the shortfall in CSR expenditure for this
financial year.
The Annual Report on CSR activities is annexed herewith marked as
Annexure A.
23. SAFETY &ENVIRONMENT
The company continued to maintain the highest standards of environment,
health and safety. The company has become the first Indian life
sciences company to receive the Responsible Care certification. It is
applicable to all manufacturing and research sites of the company.
Continuous training and awareness programs for the employees are
undertaken on a frequent basis.
24. PUBLIC DEPOSITS
The company has not accepted any deposits and as such there are no
overdue deposits outstanding as on March 31,2015.
25. EMPLOYEES
The company considers its human capital as an invaluable asset. The
company continued to have cordial relationships with all its employees.
Management and employee development programs and exercises were
conducted at all sites. Employees had various team building exercises
and were sponsored for various external seminars and other
developmental programs to enhance their skill sets. The total workforce
of the company stood at 1164 as on March 31,2015.
As required by the provisions of the section 197 (12) of the Companies
Act, 2013, read with Companies (Appointment and Remuneration of
Management Personnel) Rules, 2014, as amended, the names and other
particulars of the employees form part of the Directors' Report.
However, as per the provisions of the Sec. 136 of the Companies Act,
2013, the report and accounts are being sent to all shareholders of the
company excluding the aforesaid information, any shareholders
interested in obtaining such particulars may write to the Company
Secretary at the corporate office of the company.
26. CONSERVATION OF ENERGY, RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT TECHNOLOGY
ABSORPTION AND FOREIGN EXCHANGE EARNINGS AND OUTGO
In accordance with the requirements of Section 134 (3) (m) of the
Companies Act, 2013, read with rule 8 (3) of the Companies (Accounts)
Rules, 2014, a statement showing particulars with respect to
conservation of energy, technology absorption and foreign earnings and
outgo forming part of the Directors' Report, is given in the enclosed
annexure c which forms part of this report.
27. CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
A report on the Corporate Governance Code along with a certificate from
the Auditors of the company regarding the compliance of the code of
Corporate Governance as also the Management Discussion and Analysis
Report as stipulated under clause 49 of the Listing Agreements are
annexed to this Report.
28. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Board of Directors place on record their appreciation of the
contribution and sincere support extended to the company by our
bankers, financial institutions and valued customers and suppliers.
The Board also places on record its appreciation for the impeccable
service and generous efforts rendered by its employees at all levels,
across the board towards the overall growth and success of the company.
29. CAUTIONARY STATEMENT
Statements in the Board's Report and the Management Discussion &
Analysis describing the Company's objectives, expectations or forecasts
may be forward-looking within the meaning of applicable securities laws
and regulations. Actual results may differ materially from those
expressed in the statement. Important factors that could influence the
Company's operations include global and domestic demand and supply
conditions affecting selling prices of finished goods, input
availability and prices, changes in government regulations, tax laws,
economic developments within the country and other factors such as
litigation and industrial relations.
For and on behalf of the Board of Directors
Date: May 5, 2015 Jai Hiremath
Place: Mumbai Chairman & Managing Director
Mar 31, 2013
To The Members,
The Directors are pleased to present the 25th Annual Report with the
Audited Accounts for the financial year ended March 31,2013.
Rs. in Millions
1. FINANCIAL RESULTS
2012-13 2011-12
Turnover 6,604 6,942
Profit before interest and depreciation
and exceptional items 1,907 1,884
Interest 599 640
Profit before depreciation 1,308 1,243
Depreciation 491 424
Profit after depreciation before
exceptional items 817 819
Exchange loss 484 256
Reversal of cashflow hedge reserve - (37)
Profit before taxation after exceptional items 333 601
Provision for taxation
-Current tax 66 123
-Less MAT tax credit (66) (123)
- Deferred tax liability 78 60
Profit after tax 255 541
Reserves and surplus 4,512 4,434
Dividend on equity share 41 99
Tax on dividend 7 16
Transfer to general reserve 30 100
COMPANY''S PERFORMANCE
After a significant growth in revenues and profitability in 2012, we
experienced a challenging year at Hikal. Company revenues were lower
by 4.9%. On a positive note, the Crop Protection business grew by 17%,
continuing the upward trend from the past year. The Pharmaceutical
business experienced price pressure and delays in off take from our
customers, which resulted in a revenue decline of 17%.
Despite the difficult economic environment, EBIDTA of the company
increased by 1.2% to Rs.1,907 millions from Rs.1,884 millions. The
company added new products on a commercial scale. The profit before tax
and before extraordinary items was Rs.817 millions, which was comparable
to the prior year despite lower revenues. The profit after tax
decreased to Rs.255 millions from Rs.541 millions primarily due to a
loss on foreign exchange hedges amounting to Rs.484 millions. Based on
the results, we recommend a dividend of 25%. On a positive note, the
old forward contracts we entered into have been settled and there will
be no further losses as a result of these old contracts. Despite the
challenging economic environment, the company has increased its
operational margins.
2. EXPORTS
Exports for the year increased to Rs.5,818 millions (88% of total
sales) fromRs.5,572 millions (80% of total sales) in the previous year;
an increase of 4% versus the last fiscal year. This is due to the new
customers added in overseas geographies and domestic customers for
products that are re-exported.
3. OPERATIONS
Crop Protection Division:
Our crop protection division revenues are primarily driven from
contract manufacturing products for multinational innovator companies.
The past year saw a volume increase of a fungicide produced for a major
European multinational company. An intermediate for the same customer
produced at our Mahad facility has grown in volume and based on future
forecasts given by the customer, we expect it to grow further.
We have added two customers for commercial manufacturing which is
expected to commence next year. The lab trials for these molecules have
been completed. We worked on multiple late stage research projects for
Japanese Crop Protection companies which are expected to fructify over
the next two years. This will lead to additional revenues in the Crop
Protection division. We are currently working on an intermediate to be
manufactured at our Mahad facility for the Japanese market. This is a
solvent for the electronic chemical market with extremely stringent
quality requirements. The success of this project along with others has
opened up a new market in the fast growing specialty chemicals field
for the company.
We have invested incrementally in debottlenecking our plants at Taloja
and Mahad to cater to the additional demand of our customers. Going
forward, we are focusing on maximum capacity utilization at our
manufacturing facilities which will improve our profitability. We have
successfully completed Safety, Health and Environment audits with our
multinational customers who have reinforced our high standards and
quality systems. This should lead to additional business in the years
to come. In addition, we have invested in increasing the capacity of
our R&D personnel and equipment at our Taloja plant which focuses on
process improvements and new product development. The on-patent
molecule that we are contract manufacturing for a European
multinational innovator customer has grown substantially over last
year''s volume. Based on our customer''s forecast, we expect that this
molecule will further grow as our customer''s registration gets approved
in new markets for this new generation product.
Pharmaceutical Division:
Our pharmaceutical division recorded a turnover of Rs. 3,716 millions
as compared to Rs. 4,477 millions in the previous year, a decline of
17%. While we managed to successfully diversify the geographies in
which we sell and our customer base, much of the decline in revenues
was due to delayed orders of products from our existing customers and
the decline in selling prices.
We have signed a long term contract manufacturing agreement with a
European innovator customer to commercially manufacture pharmaceutical
products for human health. Commercial production of one of these large
volume products has commenced late last year and we expect the benefit
of full ramp up in 2014. We have also completed the validation of
another important API for this customer and we expect commercial
production to also commence in 2014. These products will be contract
manufactured exclusively for this customer through a technology
transfer process as it is one of their largest molecules. The benefits
of this agreement will reap rewards over the next few years as we
mutually expand the relationship encompassing additional services and
products. During the year we signed another manufacturing agreement
with a specialty US based food ingredient company. The long term
manufacturing agreement is for a specialty food ingredient product
manufactured under pharmaceutical grade conditions. Commercial supplies
have begun and we expect to ramp up to full production in the upcoming
year. This new business is a diversification in terms of products and
customers that the company has traditionally garnered. We have
completed the validation of a new molecule for an important Japanese
customer through a technology transfer. This product will be registered
by the customer and we expect to start production once all the
regulatory approvals are completed in 2014. This is an important step
for the company as we have been operating in the Japanese market for
over a decade and have had varied levels of success on the commercial
manufacturing side. We expect this commercial manufacturing business to
expand over the next few years in Japan as we have an established track
record of supplying products in line with the expectations of our
customers on specifications and quality.
Some of our existing API''s that have been manufactured over a period of
time are experiencing both stable volumes and prices. As there are
fewer competitors, we expect these molecules to diversify the current
product pipeline while serving as a business development tool for
adding newer customers.
Hikal has a valuable role to play by providing options across the
pharmaceutical value chain from early stage support on research to
flexible manufacturing solutions on the commercial scale. The past year
we have diversified our customers and geographies. This has brought
along a larger product portfolio which is less dependent on a few major
products as has been seen in the past. Additionally new regulated
capacity in terms of the Panoli site has increased our offerings and
services. We should see these factors drive growth for the division in
the years to come.
Research & Development:
This year, we refocused our efforts in Research & Development at the
company. Acoris, our contract research site has concentrated on
multinational, midsize biotech and innovator customers looking to use
new and improved technologies to reduce and make more efficient their
processes for their new drugs under development. As part of our
integration efforts, Acoris Research formerly a 100% subsidiary is now
a division of Hikal. It will enable a smoother transition from contract
R&D to scale up and manufacturing at any one of our commercial sites.
Our R&D centre in Bangalore continues to implement technology transfer
projects and process improvement projects for our own internal
development pipeline.
We successfully completed initial supplies for advanced intermediates
to one of the largest U.S. biotech companies. These molecules are in
phase I & II and are progressing well in clinical trials. The company
has a good chance to supply future commercial quantities for this new
molecule. The process for these molecules was worked on and improved at
Acoris and small volume commercial supplies were provided from the
Hikal manufacturing facilities.
During the year we signed a contract with a leading Japanese company to
develop different peptides using their proprietary technology. This
will enable Hikal enter into a new area of peptide development and
possibly manufacturing. The experience and capabilities gained from
this project has opened up a new avenue of customers for the company.
We extended a long term process development contract with a leading
Japanese company which will yield some molecules for manufacturing in
the future. Process development was successfully carried out on a small
scale for a product used in wide view film technology. This product
sample was approved by our customer and we are in commercial
discussions for future supplies.
Several lab scale projects are in progress with different divisions of
a large multinational company and these are expected to yield some
manufacturing returns. We successfully completed process development
for two anti malarial drugs and have supplied samples on a kilo scale
to the customer. These products are part of the company''s initiatives
to supporting, "World Health Organization''s" initiative to supply
quality medicines at an affordable cost to affected people.
Our Animal health initiatives continue to gain traction. We completed
process development for a key product for our customer and supplied
kilo quantities for their formulation studies. Commercial quantities
are expected in the next year. Pilot scale trails have been completed
and supplied for a key active ingredient. Discussions are in progress
for commercial supplies of this product
Hikal''s R&D has developed a non-infringing and economically viable
process for an advanced intermediate for a large volume molecule where
kilo lab samples were approved by the customer and pilot plant batches
are in currently under progress. Hikal has filed a patent for this
non-infringing route. Several non-infringing API processes have been
developed for the internal product pipeline of the company. We have
filed and received patents on the innovative processes developed to
support Hikal''s new product portfolio which are in the pilot scale and
will progress to the commercialization phase in the latter half of this
fiscal year.
We filed 3 DMF''s in the past year for products that will be
commercially manufactured and sold in the near future. This is part of
our strategy to diversify our existing customer base and product
pipeline. The company''s R&D initiatives are ongoing using bio catalysis
to minimize the use of chemicals in our manufacturing processes.
Enzyme catalysed transformation help us develop environment-friendly
processes for our new product pipeline. In order to ensure that our
current manufacturing processes are environment-friendly and
sustainable, consumption of organic solvents have been reduced and in
certain cases eliminated. Effluent streams were processed to recover
valuable products that can be recycled. These initiatives have been
transferred and implemented in commercial production. It is part of the
companies'' initiative to create and maintain a sustainable business.
Our strategy to offer full development and scale up services to
innovator, generic and biotech companies is leading to new
possibilities for long-term contract manufacturing opportunities for
the Hikal group. A healthy product pipeline in the development phase,
new technologies that have been absorbed and developed internally along
with strong regulatory governance has created a niche for the company
which will lead to many opportunities in the future.
4. DEMERGER OF SUBSIDIARY OPERATIONS
In terms of the Scheme of Arrangement ("the Scheme") under Sections
391 to 394 read with Section 78,100 to 103 of the Companies Act, 1956
sanctioned by Order dated March 30, 2012 of Hon''ble High Court of
Judicature at Bombay and filed with the Registrar of Companies,
Maharashtra on May 10, 2012, all the assets and liabilities of the
research business of Acoris Research Limited (''Transferor Company'') has
been taken over by the Company with effect from April 1,2012. Acoris
formerly a subsidiary is now be a division of Hikal.
During the year, Acoris has further strengthened its capabilities, both
in terms of manpower as well as technical capabilities. We have a
qualified group of approximately 118 people, most of them highly
trained scientists, Acoris helps customers innovate during the early
lifecycle of products with a comprehensive suite of offerings. Acoris
provides customized services, from Route Scouting, Contract Research,
Process Development, Scale up, Analytical Method Development and cGMP
(kilo scale) Manufacturing under Full Time Equivalent (FTE) to Fee for
Service (FFS) contracts. With the demerger of operation, the scale up
and technology transfer from Acoris to one of Hikal''s manufacturing
sites will be seamless and customers will experience a smooth
transition of their products.
5. DIVIDEND
The Board has recommended a final dividend of 25% for the year
(previous year 60%).
6. AWARDS
During the year, the company received the following awards:
Aditya Birla Award for the "Best Responsible Care Company" in India
US FDA audit and approval of second pharmaceutical manufacturing site
in Panoli Japanese Pharmaceutical & Medical Devices Authority (PMDA)
approval at our Panoli & Jigani Pharmaceutical Commercial Manufacturing
sites
7. SUBSIDIARY ACCOUNTS
In terms of the approval granted by the Government of India, Ministry
of Company Affairs under Section 212(8) of the Companies Act, 1956,
copies of the Balance Sheet, Profit and Loss Account, Directors'' Report
and the Report of the Auditors of the subsidiary companies viz., Hikal
International B.V. and Acoris Research Limited have not been attached
with the Balance Sheet of the company. The company will make available
these documents / details upon request made by any shareholder of the
company interested in obtaining the same and the same can also be
inspected at the Registered Office of the company as well as of the
subsidiaries. Pursuant to the approval, a statement of the summarized
financials of all the subsidiaries is attached along with the
Consolidated Financial Statements. Pursuant to Accounting Standard (AS)
-21 issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India,
Consolidated Financial Statements presented by the company includes the
financial information of its subsidiaries.
8. DIRECTORS
Mr. B.N. Kalyani, Mr. S.M.Kheny and Mr. Wolfgang Welter Directors on
Board retire by rotation and being eligible, offer themselves for
re-appointment.
9. DIRECTOR''S RESPONSIBILITY STATEMENT
In accordance with Section 217 (2AA) of the Companies Act, 1956, the
Directors confirm that:
(i) In the preparation of the annual accounts, the applicable
accounting standards have been followed.
(ii) The Directors have selected such accounting policies and applied
them consistently and made judgments and estimates that are reasonable
and prudent so as to give a true and fair view of the state of affairs
of the company at the end of the financial year ended March 31, 2013
and of the profit of the company for that year.
(iii) Proper and sufficient care for the maintenance of adequate
accounting records in accordance with the provisions of the Companies
Act, 1956, for safeguarding the assets of the company and for
preventing and detecting fraud and other irregularities.
(iv) The annual accounts have been prepared on a going concern basis.
10. AUDITOR''S REPORT
With regard to the qualified opinion contained in the Auditors'' Report,
explanations are given below:
Refer Note 28
The Company has entered into swap contracts with the banks against long
term loans which will mature year on year upto August 2016. The Company
has MTM losses of Rs. 116.17 milions on March 31, 2013 on these swap
contracts for the future years which have not been provided for in the
books. The Company is of the opinion that the "Mark to Market" loss
of these transactions represent unrealised losses that are notional in
nature and will not affect the ongoing business or operations of the
company. The company has adequate long-term export contracts to cover
the entire value of these contracts. The losses on these contracts are
being accounted for as and when they fall due. The company is also of
the opinion that these losses are not actual losses as the US dollar is
highly volatile and unpredictable versus the Indian Rupee.
11. AUDITOR
The members have appointed M/s B S R & Company Chartered Accountants as
the auditor of the company in the last Annual General Meeting of the
company.
M/s B S R & Company Chartered Accountants is the retiring auditor,
offer themselves for re-appointment.
12. COSTAUDIT
The company has re-appointed Prof. V.J.Talati ofV.J.Talati &Co., as the
Cost Auditor to carryout the audit of Cost Accounts for the financial
year 2012-13. The Cost Audit report for the financial year 2011-12 was
filed with Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India on
January 31,2013 by the cost auditors.
13. PUBLIC DEPOSITS
The company has not accepted any deposits and as such there are no
overdue deposits outstanding as on March 31,2013.
14. LISTING FEES
The company has paid requisite annual listing fees to Bombay Stock
Exchange and National Stock Exchange where its securities are listed.
15. EMPLOYEES
The company considers its human capital as an invaluable asset. The
company continued to have cordial relationships with all its employees.
Management and employee development programs and exercises were
conducted at all sites. Employees had various team building exercises
and were sponsored for various external seminars and other
developmental programs to enhance their skill sets. The total workforce
of the company stood at 1,065 as on March 31,2013.
As required by the provisions of the section 217 (2A) of the Companies
Act, 1956, read with companies (Particulars of Employees) Rules, 1975,
as amended, the names and other particulars of the employees form part
of the Directors'' Report. However, as per the provisions of the Sec.
219 (1) (b) (iv) of the Companies Act, 1956, the report and accounts
are being sent to all shareholders of the company excluding the
aforesaid information, any shareholders interested in obtaining such
particulars may write to the Company Secretary at the corporate office
of the company.
16. CONSERVATION OF ENERGY RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT TECHNOLOGY
ABSORPTION AND FOREIGN EXCHANGE EARNINGS AND OUTGO
In accordance with the requirements of Section 217(1)(e) of the
Companies Act, 1956, read with the Companies (Disclosure of Particulars
in the Report of Board of Directors) Rules, 1988, a statement showing
particulars with respect to conservation of energy, technology
absorption and foreign earnings and outgo forming part of the
Directors'' Report, is given in the enclosed annexure which forms part
of this report.
17. SAFETY & ENVIRONMENT
The company continued to maintain the highest standards of safety and
environment control. The company has become the first Indian life
sciences company to receive the Responsible Care certification. It is
applicable to all manufacturing and research sites of the company.
Continuous training and awareness programs for the employees are
undertaken on afrequent basis.
18. CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
A report on the Corporate Governance Code along with a certificate from
the Auditors of the company regarding the compliance of the code of
Corporate Governance as also the Management Discussion and Analysis
Report as stipulated under clause 149 of the Listing Agreements are
annexed to this Report.
19. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Board of Directors place on record their appreciation of the
contribution and sincere support extended to the company by our
bankers, financial institutions and valued customers and suppliers.
The Board also places on record its appreciation for the impeccable
service and generous efforts rendered by its employees at all levels,
across the board towards the overall growth and success of the company.
For and on behalf of the Board of Directors
Place: Mumbai Jai Hiremath Kannan K.Unni
Date: May16,2013 Chairman & Managing Director Director
Mar 31, 2012
The Directors are pleased to present the 24th Annual Report with the
Audited Accounts for the financial year ended March 31,2012.
Rs. in Millions
1.FINANCIAL RESULTS
2011-12 2010-11
Turnover 6,942 4,935
Profit before interest and depreciation
and exceptional items 1,884 1,282
Interest 640 412
Profit before depreciation 1,243 870
Depreciation 424 382
Profit after depreciation before
exceptional items 819 488
Exchange loss 256 127
Reversal of cash flow hedge reserve (37) (96)
Profit before taxation after
exceptional items 601 457
Provision for taxation -
- Current tax 123 90
- Less MAT tax credit (123) (90)
- Deferred tax liability 60 14
Profit after tax 541 443
Reserves and surplus 4,434 4,052
Dividend on equity share 99 99
Tax on dividend 16 16
Transfer to general reserve 100 100
2011 -12 was a successful year for Hikal, with an overall sales growth
of 41 %. Total revenues stood at Rs.6,942 million versus Rs.4,935 million
from the year before. The company has achieved a net profit of Rs.541
million compared to Rs.443 million in the previous year, an increase of
22%. The increase in profit can be attributed to the larger sales
volumes of existing products and operational efficiencies in the
manufacturing plants. EBIDTA increased by 47% to Rs.1,884 million from
Rs.1,282 million. The shareholders' funds of the company increased from
Rs.4,217 million to Rs.4,598 million, an increase of 9%. The long-term debt
has decreased by Rs.57 million despite the revaluation of our dollar
denominated loans due to the depreciation of the Rupee versus the US
dollar. The debt to equity ratio has improved from 0.99 to 0.92.
In 2011-12, the revenues of the Crop Protection division increased
substantially by 42% to Rs.2,465 million as compared to Rs.1,734 million
from the year before. The increase in sales was primarily due to the
larger off take of products by our customers. Our new products which
were in the R&D stage are expected to be commercialized in the next
financial year leading to additional growth in the years to come.
Our Pharmaceutical division recorded its highest turnover at Rs.4,477
million as compared to Rs.3,201 million in the previous year, a growth of
40%. Much of the growth can be attributed to the increase in sales of
our existing product portfolio as we captured a larger market share and
added new customers.
One of our leading API products in the Pharmaceutical division
experienced higher than expected volumes from existing customers as
well as from newer indications that have been approved for the product.
We received clearance to manufacture two contract manufacturing
products which are expected to grow in volume over the next few years.
This will further improve the capacity utilization at our Panoli and
Jigani facilities considerably.
The contract manufacturing of these molecules will add stable revenues
and margins for the division over the next few years.
The construction of our newest multipurpose API plant which is capable
of manufacturing 4 APIs simultaneously is underway at our USFDA
facility in Bangalore. This plant is expected to be ready in 2013 and
will cater to the new products under development at Hikal R&D and
contract manufacturing requirements of our existing customers.
2. EXPORTS
Exports for the year increased to Rs.5,572 million (80% of total sales)
from Rs.3,463 million (70% of total sales) in the previous year; an
increase of 61% versus the last fiscal year. It is due to the increase
in overall revenues and the addition of customers in different
geographies as compared to last year.
3. OPERATIONS
Crop Protection Division:
Our Crop Protection division revenues are primarily driven from
contract manufacturing products for multinational innovator companies.
The past year saw a volume increase of a fungicide produced for a major
European multinational company. An intermediate for the same customer
produced at our Mahad facility has grown in volume and based on future
forecasts given by the customer, we expect it to grow further.
We have added two customers for commercial manufacturing which is
expected to commence next year. The lab trials for these molecules have
been completed. We worked on multiple late stage research projects for
Japanese Crop Protection companies which are expected to fructify over
the next two years. It will lead to additional revenues in the Crop
Protection division. We are currently working on an intermediate to be
manufactured at our Mahad facility for the Japanese market. It is a
solvent for the electronic chemical market with extremely stringent
quality requirements. The success of this project along with others has
opened up a new market in the fast growing specialty chemicals field
for the company.
We have invested incrementally in debottlenecking our plants at Taloja
and Mahad to cater to the additional demand of our customers. Going
forward, we are focusing on maximum capacity utilization at our
manufacturing facilities which will improve our profitability. We have
successfully compleied Safety, Health and Environment audits with our
multinational customers who have reinforced our high standards and
quality systems. It should lead to additional business in the years to
come. In addition, we have invested in increasing the capacity of our
R&D personnel and equipment at our Taloja plant which focuses on
process improvements and new product development. The on-patent
molecule that we are contract manufacturing for a European
multinational innovator customer has grown substantially over last
year's volume. Based on our customer's forecast, we expect that this
molecule will further grow as our customer's registration gets approved
in new markets for this new generation product.
Pharmaceutical Division:
One of our leading API products in the Pharmaceutical division
experienced higher than expected volumes from existing customers as
well as from newer indications that have been approved for the product.
As one of the largest suppliers of this product in the world, our R&D
has worked tirelessly to improve the process and reduce the production
cost of this product in the face of increased competition and declining
market prices.
We received final clearances from a European innovator multinational
company to commence commercial production of multiple products at our
Panoli and Jigani facilities. We had built dedicated facilities for the
production of these molecules which are expected to be commercialized
in the second quarter of the next financial year. These are both large
volume products and are expected to grow in volume over the next few
years. This will further improve the capacity utilization of both sites
considerably.
Commercial quantities of an API product that we had under development
has been successfully manufactured and approved by an innovator company
in the US. This product will be contract manufactured at our USFDA
plant in Bangalore and supplies are expected to start in the second
quarter of the next financial year.
Validation trials of two new APIs under development have been
completed. We expect commercial quantities to begin in the next
financial year. These products are in the process of being approved by
our customers as they go off patent.
Construction of our newest multipurpose API plant which is capable of
manufacturing 4 APIs simultaneously is underway at our USFDA facility
in Bangalore. This plant is expected to be ready in 2013 and will cater
to the new products and contract manufacturing requirements of our
existing customers.
On the regulatory front, we had two milestones. Our Bangalore USFDA
facility passed its third audit successfully receiving zero 483s (zero
regulatory deviances). It is an accomplishment for the company from a
regulatory, quality, environment, and health and safety perspective. It
bears testimony to the high standards that we uphold. As part of the
company's initiative to become an integral component of the global
supply chain, we were audited and certified by the globally recognized
voluntary supply chain consortium, Rx360. We are the first Indian life
sciences company to be successfully audited by this organization. A
significant number of leading multinational innovator, biotech and
chemical companies are members of this supply chain which is a clear
differentiator to become a supplier to these companies.
Bangalore R&D
In continuation of our efforts to develop a strong pipeline, our R&D
team at Bangalore concluded several new projects successfully during
the year. Novel manufacturing processes were developed for 2 APIs,
which were validated and the corresponding DMFs are in the process of
being filed. One of these APIs is aimed at supporting World Health
Organization (WHO) initiatives in treating Lymphatic Filariasis. In the
area of contract manufacturing, technology transfers by our customers
were successfully transferred to our production facilities and small
quantities were validated. Efficient manufacturing processes were also
utilized for a number of pharmaceutical advanced intermediates and
transferred to the respective production units.
In order to ensure that our current manufacturing processes are
environment-friendly and sustainable, consumption of organic solvents
was reduced and in certain cases eliminated. Effluent streams were
processed to recover valuable products that can be recycled. These
initiatives have been transferred and implemented in commercial
production. It is part of the company's initiative to become a
sustainable business. Capacity building in the area of scale up has
also been undertaken and new equipment and reactors have been added to
R&D labs. These initiatives are expected to translate into new
business opportunities and leads in the near future.
4. DEMERGER OF SUBSIDIARY OPERATIONS
As per the scheme of arrangement approved by the Registrar of High
Court Judicature of Bombay High Court, with effect from 151 April 2012,
the Research and Development activity of Acoris has been demerged with
Hikal.
During the year, Acoris has further strengthened its capabilities, both
in terms of manpower as well as technical capabilities. With a
professional team of approximately 116 people, most of them qualified
scientists, Acoris helps customers innovate during the early lifecycle
of products with a comprehensive suite of offerings. Acoris provides
customized services, from Route Scouting, Contract Research, Process
Development, Scale up, Analytical Method Development and cGMP (kilo
scale) Manufacturing under Full Time Equivalent (FTE) to Fee for
Service (FfS) contracts.
Acoris registered significant growth in the year and has added a number
of major multinational clients from Western Europe and Japan. Acoris
has completed over fifty laboratory scale projects and five major pilot
plant developments on behalf of clients during 2011 -12 and has a
strong pipeline of projects for the coming year. These projects range
from Phase I to Phase III in the life sciences value chain. The success
of these projects depends on the regulatory approvals from the USFDA. A
majority of these projects are from repeat customers which highlights
the successful track record of the company.
The Japanese market has been a lead source of enquiries and projects
for Acoris. We have signed contracts for process development, process
intensification and scale up with several companies for new chemical
entities and molecules going off patent in the next few years. Our
strategy to offer a full development and scale up service to innovator
companies, generic and biotech companies is leading to new
possibilities for future long-term contract manufacturing opportunities
for the Hikal group. These development contracts will translate into
revenues in the years to come.
Acoris has received ISO certification for its Quality Management System
as well as the local Drug Manufacturing License and the GMP certificate
for its cGMP kilo lab for small scale manufacturing. The system has
been successfully audited by clients and has already manufactured small
volume of products under cGMP conditions.
The underlying concept of the value proposition to potential clients by
creating a long-term relationship starting at early development at
Acoris all the way through to manufacturing at Hikal has been
established with several examples, where products developed at Acoris
were successfully scaled up at Hikal manufacturing sites. This is a
future source of revenue for the Hikal group and the demerger will only
increase business opportunities.
5. DIVIDEND
The Board has recommended a final dividend of 60% (previous year
interim dividend of 30% and final dividend of 60% including interim
dividend).
6 AWARDS
During the year, the company received the following awards:
3rd USFDA audit was completed successfully at Bangalore 'Responsible
Care' certification - First Indian Life Sciences company
Hikal is the first Indian company to receive the Rx-360 certification,
a global supply chain consortium Hikal Acoris has won the 2011
Bloomberg UTV CXO award for implementation of Green IT
7 SUBSIDIARY ACCOUNTS
In terms of the approval granted by the Government of India, Ministry
of Company Affairs under Section 212(8) of the Companies Act, 1956,
copies of the Balance Sheet, Profit and Loss Account, Directors' Report
and the Report of the Auditors of the subsidiary companies viz., Hikal
International B.V. and Acoris Research Limited have not been attached
with the Balance Sheet of the company. The company will make available
these documents / details upon request made by any shareholder of the
company interested in obtaining the same and the same can also be
inspected at the Registered Office of the company as well as of the
subsidiaries. Pursuant to the approval, a statement of the summarized
financials of all the subsidiaries is attached along with the
Consolidated Financial Statements. Pursuant to Accounting Standard (AS)
-21 issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India,
Consolidated Financial Statements presented by the company includes the
financial information of its subsidiaries.
8. DIRECTORS
Mr. B.N.Kalyani, Chairman of Hikal since 1992, has expressed his desire
to step down as Chairman of the Board. He will continue as a Board
Member. The Board of Directors places on record the valuable guidance
and remarkable progress made by company under his leadership. The Board
of Directors appointed Mr. Jai Hiremath as Chairman and Managing
Director.
Mr. Sameer Hiremath was designated as President and Joint Managing
Director w.e.f. 10th November 2011
Mr. Amit B. Kalyani, who is alternate director to Dr. Peter Poliak, was
appointed as additional Director w.e.f. 9th February 2012. The
shareholder's approval will be sought in the forthcoming Annual General
Meeting.
Mr. Prakash Mehta. Mr. K.K.Unni and Mrs. Sugandha Hiremath, Directors
on Board retire by rotation and being eligible, offer themselves for
re-appointment.
9. DIRECTOR'S RESPONSIBILITY STATEMENT
In accordance with Section 217 (2AA) of the Companies Act, 1956, the
Directors confirm that:
i) In the preparation of the annual accounts, the applicable accounting
standards have been followed.
ii) The Directors have selected such accounting policies and applied
them consistently and made judgments and estimates that are reasonable
and prudent so as to give a true and fair view of the state of affairs
of the company at the end of the financial year ended March 31,2012 and
of the profit of the company for that year.
iii) Proper and sufficient care for the maintenance of adequate
accounting records in accordance with the provisions of the Companies
Act, 1956, for safeguarding the assets of the company and for
preventing and detecting fraud and other irregularities, iv) The annual
accounts have been prepared on a going concern basis.
10. AUDITOR'S REPORT
With regard to the emphasis of matters and qualification contained in
the Auditors' Report, explanations are given below:
i) Note no 4 of the Auditor's Report - Refer Note no. b to Note 27
The company has entered into certain forward / option contracts with
the banks to hedge its exposure against fluctuations in foreign
exchange. 80% of the company's revenues are exports realized in foreign
currencies. Majority of these exports are in US dollars. These
contracts account for approximately 20% of its total exports.
The forward covers have been spread over the next one year. These
covers were taken to ease the effects of volatile movements in foreign
currency, as a major percentage of the company's turnover is realized
from exports in foreign currencies.
The company has MTM losses of Rs.453 Million as on March 31, 2012 and for
the future years which have not been provided for in the books. The
company is of the opinion that the unrealized losses as a result of
these transactions are notional in nature and will not affect the
ongoing business or operations of the company. The company has adequate
long-term export contracts to cover the entire value of the forward
covers. The losses on these contracts are being accounted for as and
when they fall due.
The company is also of the opinion that these losses are not actual
losses as the US dollar is highly volatile and unpredictable versus the
Indian Rupee. For the FY 2012, the US dollar has appreciated by 15%
versus the Indian Rupee.
11. AUDITOR
The members have appointed M/s B S R & Company Chartered Accountants as
the auditor of the company in the last Annual General Meeting of the
company.
M/s B S R & Company Chartered Accountants is the retiring auditor,
offer themselves for re-appointment
12. COST AUDIT
The company has re-appointed Prof. V. J. Talati of V.J. Talati & Co.,
as the Cost Auditor.
13. PUBLIC DEPOSITS
The company has not accepted any deposits and as such there are no
overdue deposits outstanding as on March 31,2012.
14. LISTING FEES
The company has paid requisite annual listing fees to Bombay Stock
Exchange and National Stock Exchange where its securities are listed.
15. EMPLOYEES
The company considers its human capital as an invaluable asset. The
company continued to have cordial relationships with all its employees.
Management and employee development programs and exercises were
conducted at all sites. Employees had various team building exercises
and were sponsored for various external seminars and other
developmental programs to enhance their skill sets. The total workforce
of the company stood at 1,015 as on March 31,2012.
As required by the provisions of the section 217 (2A) of the Companies
Act, 1956, read with companies (Particulars of Employees) Rules, 1975,
as amended, the names and other particulars of the employees form part
of the Directors' Report. However, as per the provisions of the Sec. 219
(1) (b) (iv) of the Companies Act, 1956, the report and accounts are
being sent to all shareholders of the company excluding the aforesaid
information, any shareholders interested in obtaining such particulars
may write to the Company Secretary at the corporate office of the
company
16. CONSERVATION OF ENERGY, RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT TECHNOLOGY
ABSORPTION AND FOREIGN EXCHANGE EARNINGS AND OUTGO
In accordance with the requirements of Section 217(1)(e) of the
Companies Act, 1956, read with the Companies (Disclosure of Particulars
in the Report of Board of Directors) Rules, 1988, a statement showing
particulars with respect to conservation of energy, technology
absorption and foreign earnings and outgo forming part of the
Directors' Report, is given in the enclosed annexure which forms part
of this report.
17. SAFETY & ENVIRONMENT
The company continued to maintain the highest standards of safety and
environment control. The company has become the first Indian life
sciences company to receive the 'Responsible Care' certification.
It is applicable to all manufacturing and research sites of the
company. Continuous training and awareness programs for the employees
are undertaken on a frequent basis.
18. CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
A report on the Corporate Governance Code along with a certificate from
the Auditor of the company regarding the compliance of the code of
Corporate Governance as also the Management Discussion and Analysis
Report as stipulated under clause 149 of the Listing Agreements are
annexed to this Report.
19.. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Board of Directors place on record their appreciation of the active
involvement and sincere support extended to the company by our bankers,
financial institutions and esteemed customers and suppliers.
The Board also places on record its appreciation for the impeccable
service and generous efforts rendered by its employees at all levels,
across the board towards the overall growth and success of the company.
For and on behalf of the Board of Directors
Place: Mumbai Jai Hiremath Kannan Unni
Date: May 14,2012 Chairman & Managing Director Director
Mar 31, 2011
The Members,
The Directors are pleased to present the 23rd Annual Report with the
Audited Accounts for the financial year ended March 31,2011.
1. FINANCIAL RESULTS
Rs.in Millions
2010-11 2009-10
Turnover 4,935 5,360
Profit before interest, depreciation and
exceptional items 1,282 1,790
Interest 412 348
Profit before depreciation 870 1,442
Depreciation 382 330
Profit after depreciation, before
exceptional items 488 1112
Exchange loss 128 264
Reversal of cash flow hedge reserve (96) 283
Profit before taxation after exceptional items 457 565
Provision for taxation
-Current tax 90 102
- Less: MAT tax credit (90) (102)
- Deferred tax liability/(assets) 14 (37)
Profit after tax 443 602
Reserves and surplus 4,052 3,826
Dividend on equity share 99 132
Tax on dividend 16 22
Transfer to general reserve 100 125
2010-11 was a challenging year for Hikal as we were affected by
continued de-stocking of inventory by our customers. The turnover of
the company has decreased to Rs. 4,935 million from Rs. 5,360 million
in the previous year; resulting in a decrease of 8%. It is mainly due
to reduced off take of our products by customers who were trying to
cope with the economic slowdown in Europe and USA.
Despite a challenging business environment, the company has achieved a
net profit of Rs. 443 million compared to Rs. 602 million in the
previous year, a decrease of 26%. Our fourth quarter financial results
have signaled a recovery with a strong order book indicating increased
business both in pharmaceuticals and crop protection for existing and
new products.
Our pharmaceuticals business was affected by the withdrawal from the
market of a major customer who faced internal regulatory issues. As a
division, our sales were down 10.4% to Rs. 3,201 million from Rs. 3,574
million a year ago. We expect our pharmaceuticals business which also
suffered a setback due to de-stocking of inventory to register robust
growth this year backed by positive indications of orders from our
existing customers. This year, we are building capacity in our
pharmaceuticals division at the intermediate and active pharmaceutical
manufacturing sites to cater to the additional demand of our customers.
Our agrochemical sales were down 3% to Rs. 1,734 million compared to
Rs. 1,791 million from the year before. The decrease in sales was
primarily due to the inventory correction of major multinational crop
protection companies. We expect FY 2011-12 to yield better prospects
from the agrochemical division once the inventory de-stocking cycle
comes to an end. We expect to sell additional quantities of our
existing products to our customers in the next financial year.
Hikal has the vision and ability to be an end-to-end solutions provider
for the CRAMS industry. We have successfully become a leading global
supplier for API products in developed markets such as Europe and USA.
The company believes that it has the ability to continuously deliver
value and sustain long-term growth. We expect the pharmaceuticals
division backed by our increasing R&D strength and capabilities to lead
the growth of the company in the coming years.
2. EXPORTS
Exports for the year decreased to Rs. 3,463 million (70% of total
sales), compared to the previous year of Rs. 4,700 million (88% of
total sales); a decrease of 26% versus last fiscal year. We have
increased our geographical distribution of products and have increased
sales to the fast growing companies in the local market. This is in
line with our strategy to diversify our customer base and broaden the
supplies to domestic companies who have a growing market share in
varied geographies including developed markets.
3. OPERATIONS
Taloja Site:
In our last annual report, we discussed the construction of a new
multi-purpose plant. The plant construction and validation was
completed in this financial year and the second production campaign of
an 'on patent active ingredient1 was successfully commercialized. Our
pilot plant successfully completed small quantity manufacturing of six
molecules intended for commercial production at different Hikal sites.
Of these molecules, one was a pharma intermediate and the remaining
five were for the crop protection industry.
Mahad Site:
Our Mahad site is currently manufacturing intermediates and herbicides
for the crop protection industry. We have upgraded one of our
manufacturing plants which will be used to manufacture pharma
intermediates for the domestic market. We also have plans to utilize
this plant for captive consumption for some of our active
pharmaceutical ingredients.
We have upgraded our effluent treatment system on site and would be
recycling a large part of effluent waste is line with our
environmental, health and safety policy.
Panoli Site:
We have introduced two new pharma intermediate products at our Panoli
site. These have been validated at the plant scale and successfully
passed the customer audits. We expect to start commercialization of
these products towards the end of this fiscal year. Commercial trials
of a new product from R&D were successfully initialized at the plant
level. To meet GMP requirements, the existing manufacturing block and
warehouse were refurbished. We have also submitted an application to
get approval from the Japanese regulatory authority (PMDA) for this
site. At our new multipurpose plant, several measures have been taken
to reduce the carbon footprint at the site in lieu of the increased
production at the site.
Under the internal Project Upgradation on Safety Health and environment
(PUSHe) program, we have undertaken measures to strengthen safety
awareness and social responsibility at each site.
Bangalore USFDA Site:
Our Bangalore site manufactures Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients for
regulated markets. We have completed construction and commissioning of
a new multi product manufacturing block this year. We expect to start
contract manufacturing of a product for a leading innovator company by
the end of this fiscal year. We are in the process of upgrading some of
our API plants in Bangalore to increase production. We have refurbished
an existing API block to run to parallel streams of APIs simultaneously
which will increase our overall output for different products and give
us flexibility in the way we operate. We are in the process of
increasing the production capacity of our key products as per the
indications received from our customers for this fiscal year. Civil
work on yet another multi product manufacturing block is under progress
and when completed, we will have multiple product streams to cater to
new products that are underdevelopment.
Our Bangalore site hascommitted to adopt the 'Responsible Care' logo
under PUSHe activities. The site is a 'zero discharge facility',
complying with environmental norms.
Hikal has initiated a 'Total Quality Management' (TQM) program with the
goal of improving awareness and productivity across various departments
at all sites. Hikal has engaged external consultants to organize
several training programs for its employees.
As part of the Corporate Social Responsibility program at Hikal,
employees from our Bangalore site have voluntarily participated in
several community programs in and the around the Jigani site.
Bangalore R&D:
As part of our strategy to increase our product portfolio and
streamline the development process, we have hired new scientists for
our R&D center. This year, we have also added a new synthetic lab and
refurbished a kilo lab on site.
Our existing R&D center in Bangalore is fully utilized and is focusing
on improving processes of existing products as well as developing new
DMFs and processes for new products in our portfolio. Validation of
processes for three new products has been done in the kilo lab which is
ready for validation in our commercial plants.
During 2010-2011, one process patent of a new API was filed and one
Canadian patent on our existing API has been granted. We have drafted
three process patents for our products and will be filed during 2011-12
continuing our drive for creating Intellectual Property.
We have filed one new US DMF and received approvals for two existing
products from the European regulatory authorities (EDQM).
4. SUBSIDIARY OPERATIONS
Acoris Research Limited, our 100% subsidiary, has continued its efforts
to establish itself as a reputed contract research service provider
targeting early stage research of innovator and mid size pharmaceutical
companies. Acoris helps customers innovate during the early lifecycle
of products with a comprehensive suite of offerings. Acoris provides
customized services, from Full Time Equivalent (FTE) to Fee for Service
(FfS) contracts, Route Scouting, Contract Research, Process
Development, Scale up, Analytical Method Development and cGMP(kilo)
Manufacturing, among other services.
Acoris has registered a considerable increase in its turnover for
2010-11 as compared to the last fiscal year. The strategy of targeting
large innovators and small to medium size companies in the early
lifecycle of their pharmaceutical product development has been
successful. The ongoing marketing efforts of Acoris have started to
yield results. Acoris has successfully delivered a few test projects
which have resulted in inquiries from existing clients.
The easing of the credit situation which many pharmaceutical companies
depend on to fund new projects in research and development has resulted
in Acoris winning some projects from new customers. Acoris has
successfully penetrated the Japanese market to provide cost-effective
solutions for Japanese pharmaceutical companies. Successful scale up of
Acoris-developed processes on a few projects from gram scale to a few
hundred kilograms has resulted in repeat orders for Hikal.
The strategy of Acoris targeting the early stage development pipeline
of the innovator pharmaceutical and biotech companies to ultimately
secure part of the contract manufacturing opportunity for Hikal's
manufacturing plants is proving to be successful, albeit slowly.
Ultimately, there are many regulatory hurdles which pharmaceutical
companies must go through before the candidate drug gains approval. In
the event of the molecule which Acoris has worked on succeeds, there is
a very good chance that Hikal will manufacture the product in one of
its state-of-the-art US FDA plants. To realize a higher strike ratio,
Acoris has been expanding and continues to expand its technology
toolbox, offerings and customer base.
Acoris has advanced facilities including a cGMP kilolab to meet the
specific requirements for process and product development of customers.
Its modern infrastructure is managed by a professional team of seasoned
executives, chemical engineers and internationally trained scientists.
The addition of Acoris has increased Hikal's visibility by offering
services to potential customers early in the product development phase
all the way up to commercial manufacturing of the molecule. It enhances
the value proposition to potential clients by creating a long-term
relationship with clients starting at early development all the way
through to manufacturing.
Acoris has been successful in penetrating the Japanese market as well
the European and US markets.
We expect Acoris to increase its revenue substantially for FY 2011 and
eventually create additional business opportunities for Hikal on the
manufacturing side.
5. DIVIDEND
The Board has recommended an interim dividend of 30% (previous year,
40%) and final dividend of 60% (previous year, 80%) including interim
dividend. The company is positive about the business environment going
forward.
6. FCCB REPAYMENT
During the year, the company redeemed US$ 12 million FCCB issued in
2005 on the due date in October 2010 along with redemption premium as
per agreed terms.
7. AWARDS
During the year, the company received the following awards:
- Deputy Managing Director, Mr. Sameer Hiremath was honored with a
distinguished Alumni award 'Jewel of MIT (Maharashtra Institute of
Technology), Pune in the Business category.
- Hikal Panoli received an award from Gujarat Gas for the best safety
standards and practices adopted at the site.
- The Bangalore site was awarded a prize in the state-level Safety
competition for the year 2011 under the Midsize Industry category.
- Hikal won prestigious IT awards for Customer Excellence from Red Hat,
Linux and CIO100 award in Information Technology from IDG India.
- Hikal was nominated as a finalist in the 'Best Supplier' and 'Best
Company' in the Emerging Market Region category at the AGROW Awards
2010.
- Hikal received the 50lhABCI award for our 2009 Annual Report for the
fourth consecutive year.
8. SUBSIDIARY ACCOUNTS
In view of the general approval granted by the Government of India,
Ministry of Company Affairs under Section 212(8) of the Companies Act,
1956, copies of the Balance Sheet, Profit and Loss Account, Directors'
Report and the Report of the Auditors of the subsidiary companies
viz.,Hikal International B.V. and Acoris Research Limited have not been
attached with the Balance Sheet of the company. The company will make
available these documents / details upon request made by any
shareholder of the company interested in obtaining the same and the
same can also be inspected at the Registered Office of the company as
well as of the subsidiaries. Pursuant to the condition of general
approval, a statement of the summarized financials of all the
subsidiaries is attached along with the Consolidated Financial
Statements. Pursuant to Accounting Standard (AS) 21 issued by the
Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, Consolidated Financial
Statements presented by the company includes the financial information
of its subsidiaries.
9. DIRECTORS
Mr. B.N. Kalyani and Dr. Peter Pollak, Directors on the Board retire by
rotation and being eligible, offer themselves for re-appointment. Dr.
Wolfgang Welter, former Head of Industrial operations at Bayer
Cropscience AG., has been appointed to the Board as an additional
director.
10. DIRECTORS' RESPONSIBILITY STATEMENT
In accordance with Section 217 (2AA) of the Companies Act, 1956, the
Directors confirm that:
(i) In the preparation of the annual accounts,
the applicable accounting standards have been followed.
(ii) The Directors have selected such accounting policies and applied
them consistently and made judgments and estimates that are reasonable
and prudent so as to give a true and fair view of the state of affairs
of the company at the end of the financial year ended March 31,2011 and
of the profit of the company for that year.
(iii) Proper and sufficient care for the maintenance of adequate
accounting records in accordance with the provisions of the Companies
Act, 1956, for safeguarding the assets of the company and for
preventing and detecting fraud and other irregularities.
(iv) The annual accounts have been prepared on a going concern basis.
11. AUDITORS REPORT
With regard to the emphasis of matters and qualification contained in
the Auditors' Report, explanations are given below:
i) Note no 4 of the Auditors Report - Refer Note no. iii (b) to
Schedule No 21
The company has entered into certain forward / option contracts with
the banks to hedge its exposure against fluctuations in foreign
exchange. 70% of the company's revenues consist of exports. Majority of
these exports are in US dollars. These contracts account for
approximately 20% of its total exports. The forward covers have been
spread over the next two years and are decreasing over a period of
time. These covers were taken to ease the effects of foreign currency
fluctuations, as a major percentage of the company's turnover is
realized from exports in foreign currency, primarily the US dollar.
The company has MTM losses of Rs. 295 million on March 31, 2011 as
compared to 459 million as of the previous year. This amount has not
been provided for in the books. The company is of the opinion that the
unrealized losses as a result of these transactions are notional in
nature and will not affect the ongoing business or operations of the
company. The company has adequate long-term export contracts to cover
the entire value of the forward covers.
The losses on these contracts are being accounted for as and when they
fall due.
The company is also of the opinion that these losses are not actual
losses as the US dollar is highly volatile and its movements are
unpredictable.
12. AUDITORS
M/s B S R & Company Chartered Accountants are retiring auditors, being
eligible, offer themselves for re-appointment.
13. COST AUDIT
The company has re-appointed Prof. V.J. Talati of V.J. Talati & Co., as
the Cost Auditor.
14. PUBLIC DEPOSITS
The company has not accepted any deposits and as such there are no
overdue deposits outstanding as on March 31,2011.
15. LISTING FEES
The company has paid requisite annual listing fees to Bombay Stock
Exchange and National Stock Exchange where its securities are listed.
16. EMPLOYEES
The company considers its human capital as a valuable asset. The
company has a harmonious relationship with employees. Management and
employee development programs and exercises were conducted across all
sites. Employees were sponsored for various external seminars and
other developmental programs to enhance their skill sets. The total
workforce of the company stood at 1023 as on March 31,2011.
As required by the provisions of the section 217 (2A) of the Companies
Act, 1956, read with companies (Particulars of Employees) Rules, 1975,
as amended, the names and other particulars of the employees form part
of the Directors' Report. However, as per the provisions of the Sec.
219(1) (b) (iv) of the Companies Act, 1956, the report and accounts are
being sent to all shareholders of the company excluding the aforesaid
information, any shareholders interested in obtaining such particulars
may write to the Company Secretary at the corporate office of the
company.
17. CONSERVATION OF ENERGY, RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT, TECHNOLOGY
ABSORPTION AND FOREIGN EXCHANGE EARNINGS AND OUTGO
In accordance with the requirements of Section 217(1)(e) of the
Companies Act, 1956, read with the Companies (Disclosure of Particulars
in the Report of Board of Directors) Rules, 1988, a statement showing
particulars with respect to conservation of energy, technology
absorption and foreign earnings and outgo forming part of the
Directors' Report, is given in the enclosed annexure which forms part
of this report.
18. SAFETY& ENVIRONMENT
The company continued to maintain the highest standards of safety and
environment control. The company's commitment to 'Responsible Care' is
ongoing at each site. Mandatory training and awareness programs for the
employees are given on a consistent basis.
19. CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
A report on the Corporate Governance Code along with a certificate from
the Auditors of the company regarding the compliance of the code of
Corporate Governance as also the Management Discussion and Analysis
Report as stipulated under clause 149 of the Listing Agreements are
annexed to this Report.
20. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The Board of Directors place on record their appreciation of the active
involvement and sincere support extended to the company by our bankers,
financial institutions and other esteemed customers and suppliers. The
Board also places on record its appreciation for the impeccable service
and unstinting efforts rendered by its employees at all levels, across
the board towards its overall growth and success.
For and on behalf of the Board of Directors
Jai Hiremath Kannan Unni
Vice Chairman & Managing Director Director
Place: Mumbai
Date: May 12,2011
Mar 31, 2010
The Directors are pleased to present the 22nd Annual Report with the
Audited Accounts for the financial year ended March 31,2010.
1. FINANCIAL RESULTS Rs.in Million
2009-10 2008-09
Turnover 5,429 4,828
Profit before interest and depreciation
and exceptional items 1,790 1,326
Interest 348 248
Profit before depreciation 1,442 1,078
Depreciation 330 210
Profit after depreciation before
exceptional items 1112 868
Exchange loss 264 244
Reversal of cashflow hedge reserve 283 --
Profit before taxation after exceptional
items 565 624
Provision for taxation
-Current tax 102 --
- Less MAT tax credit (102) --
- Deferred tax liabi!ity/(assets) (37) 29
- Fringe benefit tax - 6 profit after tax 602 589
Reserves and surplus 3,826 3,138
Dividend on equity share 132 --
Tax on dividend 22 --
Transfer to general reserve 125 --
The turnover of the company has increased to Rs. 5,429 million from Rs.
4,828 million in the previous year; an increase of 12%. Our
Pharmaceutical division has been the major driver of our growth
registering an increase of 29% to Rs.3,570 million. We expect the
pharmaceutical division to lead the growth of the company in the coming
years.
In spite of the global recession which resulted in weak demand for
pharmaceutical and agrochemcial products worldwide, the company has
achieved a net profit of Rs. 602 million compared to Rs. 589 million in
the previous year, an increase of 2%.
Our Agrochemical sales were down 11% to Rs.1,791 miliion compared to
Rs.2,021 million from the year before.
The decrease in sales was primarily due to the inventory correction of
the major multinational crop protection companies that continued into
the last quarter of FY 2009. We expect FY 2010 to yield better
prospects from the agrochemical division once the inventory destocking
cycle comes to an end. We expect to sell additional quantities of our
existing products to our customers in the next financial year.
2. EXPORTS
Exports for the year increased to Rs. 4,700 million, (88 % of total
sales), previous year Rs. 4,393 million (92% of total sales); an
increase of 7% versus last fiscal year. We have increased our
geographic distribution of products and are selling more in the
domestic market as part of our diversification strategy.
3. OPERATIONS
Taloja Site:
Our recently constructed new multipurpose plant at Taloja has been
commissioned and production of an on patent active ingredient is
underway. Our Taloja site is aiso being used a manufacturing facility
for some small scale high value products where the research and
development is done at Acoris, our 100% dedicated contract research
center. This year we undertook four such scale up projects where the
high value product was manufactured at the pilot plant in Taloja
successfully. Mahad Site:
Our Mahad site is being used for captive consumption for the
manufacture of intermediates for Taloja. We are in the process of
upgrading one of our plants at the Mahad site which would be able to
manufacture additional intermediates for sale in the domestic market
and other markets.
Panoli Site :
Our Panoli site has been primarily utilized for captive consumption
this year due to the increased demand of existing APIs. We have
installed a multiple effect evaporator which recycles key materials in
the manufacture of one of our best selling products. This has increased
the gross margin of the product and has also considerably reduced the
effluents which could potentially harm the environment.
We have introduced a new small volume high value product for a Japanese
company in Panoli where the initial process development was done at
Acoris. We expect the volumes of this product to eventually increase
resulting in potential commercial manufacture.
Bangalore USFDA Site:
We are in the process of upgrading some of our API plants in Bangalore
to increase production. We have refurbished an existing API block to
run to parallel streams of APIs simultaneously. We are constructing an
additional API block for multiproduct manufacture.
The company has completed and commercialized a state-of-the-art Solvent
Recovery Unit (SRU). From April of this financial year, the SRU has
been brought on stream and is being fully utilized to recover valuable
solvents and contributing to a greener environment.
The production of a veterinary drug from this site has been
successfully commercialised, we expect higher sales for this product in
the coming years.
As a signatory to the "Responsible Care" initiative, our Bangalore site
is a "zero discharge facility". We are focused on reducing our impact
on the environment.
As a part of our future growth strategy, we have acquired additional
land adjoining our USFDA facility which will facilitate future
expansion for manufacture of active ingredients.
Bangalore R&D
Our existing R&D centre at Bangalore is fully utilized and is focusing
on improving processes of existing products as well developing
processes for new products in our portfolio. In line with the companys
plan, we have filed 2
DMFs in the US and 1 COS in Europe.
During the year 2009-10, we have been granted 5 patents which were
applied for in the previous years. We have also applied for 4
additional patents in the US & Europe.
We have received 3 patents from the US and European authorities for
three of our key products. We also received a COS (Certificate of
Suitability: marketing authorization by the European Regulatory
Authorities) to sell one of our key APIs in Europe
During the year, the company also filed 1 process patent with the
regulatory authorities, continuing its drive of creating intellectual
property.
4. SUBSIDIARY OPERATIONS
Our R&D center, M/s Acoris Research Limited, Pune (100% subsidiary) is
fully operational. Acoris has initiated staited establishing itself as
a service provider of contract research services targeting small
biotech to multinational pharmaceutical and agrochemical companies.
Acoris helps customers innovate during the early lifecycle of products
with a comprehensive suite of offerings. Acoris provides customized
services, from Full Time Equivalent (FTE) to Fee for Service (FfS)
contracts, Route Scouting, Contract Research, Process Development,
Scale up, Analytical Method Development and cGMP (kilo) Manufacturing
among other things.
Acoris has advanced facilities including a cGMP kilolab to meet the
specific requirements for process and product development of customers.
Its modern infrastructure is managed by a professional team of seasoned
executives, chemical engineers and internationally trained scientists.
The addition of Acoris has increased the Hikal groups visibility by
offering services to potential customers early on in the product
development phase all way up to commercial manufacturing of the
molecule. This enhances the value proposition to the potential client
by creating a long term relationship with the client starting at early
development all the way through to manufacturing.
Acoris has been successful at penetrating the Japanese market as well
the European and US markets. We expect Acoris to increase revenue
substantially for FY 2010 and eventually create additional business
opportunities for Hikal on the manufacturing side.
5. DIVIDEND
The Board has recommended an interim dividend of 40 % and final
dividend of 80 % including interim dividend for the year. (Previous
year Nil)
6. AWARDS
During the year, the company received the following awards:
An award for the Best Supplier at the prestigious AGROW Awards 2009
held in London
Top three finalists at the Information Technology CNBC TV 18 Awards for
the IT setup at Acoris Research Ltd.
Our Mahad site received the National Safety Council award for Safety.
The company also received a Silver Medal for the Best Annual Report
from the Association of Business Communicators of India.
7. SUBSIDIARY ACCOUNTS
In terms of the approval granted by the Government of India, Ministry
of Corporate Affairs under Section 212(8) of the Companies Act, 1956,
copies of the Balance Sheet, Profit and Loss Account, Directors1 Report
and the Report of the Auditors of the subsidiary companies viz., Hikal
International B.V. and Acoris Research Limited have not been attached
with the Balance Sheet of the company. The company will make available
these documents / details upon request made by any members of the
company interested in obtaining the same and the same can also be
inspected at the Registered Office of the company as well as of the
subsidiaries. Pursuant to the approval, a statement of the summarized
financials of all the subsidiaries is attached along with the
Consolidated Financial Statements. Pursuant to Accounting Standard (AS)
- 21 issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India,
Consolidated Financial Statements presented by the company includes the
financial information of its subsidiaries. 8 DIRECTORS
Mr. Shiv Kumar Kheny and Ms.Sugandha Hiremath Directors on the Board,
retire by rotation and being eligible, offer themselves for
re-appointment.
9. DIRECTORS RESPONSIBILITY STATEMENT
In accordance with Section 217 (2AA) of the Companies Act, 1956, the
Directors confirm that: (i) In the preparation of the annual accounts,
the applicable accounting standards have been followed. (ii) The
Directors have selected such accounting policies and applied them
consistently and made judgments and estimates that are reasonable and
prudent so as to give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of
the company at the end of the financial year ended March 31,2010 and of
the profit of the company for that year.
(iii) Proper and sufficient care for the maintenance of adequate
accounting records in accordance with the provisions of the Companies
Act, 1956, for safeguarding the assets of the company and for
preventing and detecting fraud and other irregularities.
(iv) The annual accounts have been prepared on a going concern basis.
10. AUDITORS REPORT
With regard to the emphasis of matters and qualification contained in
the Auditors Report, explanations are given below:
i) Note no 4 of the Auditors Report - Refer Note no. iii (b) to
Schedule No 21
The company has entered into certain forward / option contracts with
the banks to hedge its exposure against fluctuations in foreign
exchange. 90% of the companys revenues consist of exports. Majority of
these exports are in US dollars. These contracts account for
approximately 30% of its total exports.
The forward covers have been spread over the next two years. These
covers were taken to ease the effects of the foreign currency
fluctuations, as a major percentage of the companys turnover is
realized from exports in foreign currencies.
The company has MTM losses of Rs.459 Million as on March 31, 2010 for
the future years which have not been provided for in the books. The
company is of the opinion that the unrealized losses as a result of
these transactions are notional in nature and will not affect the
ongoing business or operations of the company. The company has adequate
long-term export contracts to cover the entire value of the forward
covers. The losses on these contracts are being accounted for as and
when they fall due.
The company is also of the opinion that these losses are not actual
losses as the US dollar is highly volatile and unpredictable. For the
FY 2009, the US Dollar has appreciated by 11 % versus the Indian Rupee.
11. AUDITORS
The member have appointed M/s B S R & Company Chartered Accountants as
the Auditors of the company in the last Annual General Meeting of the
company.
M/s B S R & Company Chartered Accountants is retiring auditors, being
eligible offer themselves for reappointment.
12. COST AUDIT
The company has re-appointed Prof. V.J. Talati of V.J. Talati & Co., as
the Cost Auditor.
13. PUBLIC DEPOSITS
The company has no overdue deposits outstanding other than those
unclaimed as on March 31,2010.
14. LISTING FEES
The company has paid requisite annual listing fees to Bombay Stock
Exchange and National Stock Exchange where its securities are listed.
15. EMPLOYEES
The company considers its human capital as a valuable asset. The
company continued to have cordial relationships with ail its employees.
Management and employee development programs and exercises were
conducted across all its sites. Employees were sponsored for various
external seminars and other developmental programs which enhance their
skill sets. The total workforce of the company stood at 848 as on March
31,2010.
As required by the provisions of the section 217 (2A) of the Companies
Act, 1956, read with companies (Particulars of Employees) Rules, 1975,
as amended, the names and other particulars of the employees form part
of the Directors Report. However, as per the provisions of the Sec.
219 (1) (b) (iv) of the Companies Act, 1956, the report and accounts
are being sent to all shareholders of the company excluding the
aforesaid information, any shareholders interested in obtaining such
particulars may write to the Company Secretary at the corporate office
of the company
16. CONSERVATION OF ENERGY, RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT, TECHNOLOGY
ABSORPTION AND FOREIGN EXCHANGE EARNINGS AND OUTGO
In accordance with the requirements of Section 217(1) (e) of the
Companies Act, 1956, read with the Companies (Disclosure of Particulars
in the Report of Board of Directors) Rules, 1988, a statement showing
particulars with respect to conservation of energy, technology
absorption and foreign earnings and outgo forming part of the
Directors Report, is given in the enclosed annexure which forms part
of this report.
17. SAFETY & ENVIRONMENT
The company continued to maintain the highest standards of safety and
environment control. The companys commitment to responsible care is
ongoing at each site. Mandatory training and awareness programs for the
employees are given on consistent basis.
18. CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
A report on the Corporate Governance Code along with a certificate from
the Auditors of the company regarding the compliance of the code of
Corporate Governance as also the Management Discussion and Analysis
Report as stipulated under clause 49 of the Listing Agreements are
annexed to this Report.
19. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The Board of Directors place on record their appreciation of the active
involvement and sincere support extended to the company by our Bankers,
Financial Institutions and other esteemed customers and suppliers. The
Board also places on record its appreciation for the impeccable service
and unstinting efforts rendered by its employees at all levels, across
the board towards its overall success.
For and on behalf of the Board of Directors
Place: Mumbai Jai Hiremath Kannan Unni
Date: April 30,2010 Vice Chairman
& Managing Director Director