The Hindu Business Line : Himalaya expects 30% growth post-expansion

WITH the Rs 165-crore expansion project scheduled to be completed by end-2005, Himalaya Drug Company expects the improved capacities to fuel growth in business volumes.

According to its President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr Ravi Prasad, the company expects to record annual growth of 25-30 per cent against the average 8-10 per cent recorded by the Indian pharmaceutical industry.

Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday on the eve of launching two more products under the consumer health division, he said the fast-moving healthcare goods (FMHG) sector, with a current size of around 5 per cent of Rs 19,000-crore healthcare industry, holds promise.

Stating that there has been a significant paradigm shift from prevention rather than cure in the healthcare segment with preference to herbal healthcare, Mr Ravi Prasad said the company expects more than 50 per cent growth in its consumer health division in the next couple of years. It also saw similar growth in its International business and personal care divisions during this period.

"We expect a growth of 25-30 per cent per annum on the enlarged business volumes following the expansion project. We hope to address teething problems of expansion project by 2007-08 and stabilise our business volumes," Mr Ravi Prasad said.

According to him, the consumer health division of the company has shown a significant growth since its launch in April last year and has contributed Rs 45 crore to the company's turnover.

With expansion in the offing, the division would emerge as strategic wing for the growth of Himalaya given the prospects in the FMHG sector.

Stating that the company was not at all interested in going public, Mr Ravi Prasad said staying closely held would provide more freedom for the management to operate.

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