Astrazeneca Pharma tumbles after board defers delisting offer

Mumbai March 6, 2014:- Astrazeneca Pharma India fell 7.13% to Rs 1,090 at 9:34ISTon BSE after the company said its board deferred the proposed delisting of the firm’s shares from the domestic stock exchanges.

The company made the announcement after trading hours on Wednesday, 5 March 2014.

Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was up 82.11 points, or 0.39%, to 21,358.97.

On BSE, so far 29,000 shares were traded in the counter, compared with an average volume of 17,707 shares in the past one quarter.

The stock hit a high of Rs 1,099 and a low of Rs 1,070 so far during the day. The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 1,285 on 4 March 2014. The stock hit a 52-week low of Rs 595 on 26 March 2013.- Business Line

The stock had outperformed the market over the past one month till 5 March 2014, rising 57.63% compared with the Sensex’s 5.01% rise. The scrip had also outperformed the market in past one quarter, rising 42.09% as against Sensex’s 1.52% rise.

The small-cap company has an equity capital of Rs 5 crore. Face value per share is Rs 2.

AstraZeneca Pharma India (the company), the Indian arm of Swedish drug maker AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals AB (AZP AB), has deferred its delisting from the stock exchanges, which had been proposed by its parent company last week. The company’s board, at a meeting on Wednesday, 5 March 2014, decided to seek additional information on the delisting proposal from the parent. Pending receipt of such additional information, consideration of the promoter’s letter dated 1 March 2014 was deferred, the Indian company said in a statement.

On Saturday, 1 March 2014, the company said that its board received a letter from AZP AB, promoter of the company, proposing to delist the equity shares of the company from Indian stock exchanges (BSE, NSE and Bangalore Stock Exchange). AZP AB holds 75% in the company.

Meanwhile, the company announced last week that AZP AB had entered into a subvention agreement with the company dated 7 May 2013, whereby it had decided to provide a voluntary non-repayable financial grant of approximately $22.5 million to $26.5 million over the three years between fiscal year ending March 2014 (FY14) – fiscal year ending March 2016 (FY16), of which the first tranche of $14 million was to be provided to the company in FY14.

The objective of this financial grant was to assist the company in its efforts to establish / grow its presence in the Indian market. In line with the subvention agreement, AZP AB has already provided $10.5 million to the company during the nine month period ended 31 December 2013. The subvention agreement provided for AZP AB to continuously monitor and review the business and financial performance of the company, thereby assessing the need for the continuation / modification of this voluntary financial grant, based on evolving business environment and conditions. AZP AB believes that the company’s business and financial performance has been in line with more recent expectations, and that the company shall require approximately $3.5 million till end-FY14, and no further grant thereafter, the company added.

It has therefore been decided by AZP AB that the total amount of financial grant to be provided by AZP AB to the company shall stand revised to $14 million (as against the $22.5 million originally envisaged and approved as part of the financial assistance package), which shall continue till end-FY14, post which the payments under the subvention agreement shall cease, the company said.

Astrazeneca Pharma India reported a net profit of Rs 1.52 crore in Q3 December 2013 as against net loss of Rs 17.70 crore in Q3 December 2012. Net sales rose 13.3% to Rs 118.88 crore in Q3 December 2013 over Q3 December 2012.

AstraZeneca Pharma India is one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies, with a broad range of medicines designed to fight disease in important areas of healthcare. The company is involved in both manufacturing and marketing of medicines.