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Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda’s drug manufacturer, Cipla Quality Chemicals Ltd, has issued a profit warning for the six months period ended Sept.202, 2023, citing changes in product mix.
The Uganda Securities Exchange-listed firm now expects to report lower net earnings than what it reported during the same period last year, which ended Sept. 30, 2022.
Last year, Cipla Quality Chemicals Ltd, saw its net profit surge nearly five times to Shs13.9 billion for the six months period driven by the recovery of part of its debt from the government of Zambia.
Ajay Kumar Pal said the company’s gross margins are also expected to be lower than the previous year. “Cipla Quality Chemical Industries Limited (the Company) wishes to inform its shareholders and potential investors that the company’s profit for the half year ended 30 September 2023, will decline compared to the same period in the previous year,” said the CEO in a notice to investors.
“The higher profit in the previous year was mainly due to the recovery of a trade receivable from the Government of Zambia, which had been fully impaired.”
In 2022, Cipla Quality Chemicals Ltd broke into the private market with the launch of an antibiotic called Azicip-500, a brand of azithromycin in response to increased upper respiratory tract infections. Also, it expanded its product portfolio by technology transferring 9 new products in the therapeutic areas of anti-infectives, cardiovascular anti emetics and malaria
Cipla, one of the largest pharmaceutical manufacturers in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), is known for manufacturing antiretrovirals, artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) and Hepatitis medicines to treat HIV/ AIDS, malaria and Hepatitis repectively.
The company has secured several product registrations in West Africa (WAHO), and Southern Africa (ZAZIBONA) as well as increased the regulatory footprint from 16 to 31 countries across Africa.
The drug manufacturer also exports drugs to countries such as Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Niger, Botswana and Malawi as well as delivered on its long-standing commitment to enter the Ugandan retail pharmaceutical market by acquiring the importation and distribution business of the Cipla range of products manufactured in India.
