"The company's strategy of restructuring its product base by stopping production of antibiotics like Amoxycilin, Cloxacyllina and Ketrolac, concentrating on potential drugs like Cisapride and Loratadine and commencing production of Sultamicillin has paid rich returns," company chairman and managing director KB Suri said.

"We have carved a niche for ourselves by concentrating on drugs with long-term potential and are one of the few in the world to offer them," he said.

The company's profitability has also improved because of the various tax exemptions enjoyed by the company on account of newmanufacturing facilities and exports, Morepen's director Sushil Suri said.

The company has a equity base of Rs 15.6 crore and based on the fiscal 1998-99's performance its earning per share comes to more than Rs 25.

About 40 to 45 per cent of the company's equity is held by the promoters, 25 per cent by the public and 30 per cent by financial institutions like UTI and LIC.

The company, which came out with a public issue in 1992, subsequently raised funds from the public through two right issues and its share was quoted at a value of 219 to 220 on the stock exchanges on Wednesday.

Exports constitute about 10 to 12 per cent of the company's turnover.

The company is already exporting its bulk drugs as well as their formulations to 22 non-patent countries and claims to hold number two position in the world for these three bulk drugs.

"We are the number two in all the bulk drugs manufactured by us, after schering plough, which holds the patent for Loratidine, Johnson and Johnson, patent holder forCisapride and Pfizer for Sultamycillin," Suri said.

The company's manufacturing facilities for Loratadine at Parwanoo in Himachal Pradesh was recently awarded the United States Food and Drug Authority (USFDA) approval, which would enable it to explore new markets.

"The USFDA has opened new vistas of growth for Morepen and will enable it to join the rank of world class pharmaceutical companies," Suri said.

"This development will have a significant positive impact on the bottomline of the company as international prices in Europe and American markets are such as to enable the company to earn 50 per cent net margin on sale of loratidine in these markets," he said.

The company has an installed capacity of six tonnes for manufacture of Loratadine, out of which only 1.2 tonnes is being produced at present, Suri said, adding this capacity could also be utilised to meet the demand for new markets.

Of this 1.2 tonnes of production, one tonne was being exported at present and the remaining sold in thedomestic market as formulations, he said.