J B Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals chairman and managing director, JB Mody, told shareholders at the company's annual general meeting on Monday that turnover for the first half is expected to grow by around 13 per cent to Rs 89 crores as against Rs 78.70 crores in the previous year.

"Barring unforseen circumstances, I expect that your company's sales, total income and profits for the current fiscal will be better than that of the last year. The optimism is also reflected in the board's decision to maintain the total dividend at 50 per cent on the enhanced share capital of the company, " he said.

On the company's US product patent for a controlled release formulation of ranitidine and a novel metronidazole formulation for dental disease, Mody said that the company islooking for strategic partners who will be assigned the patents to manufacture and market these products in the US.

Discussions with proposed partners are understood to be at an advanced stage, though company officials deny that Glaxo has evinced an interest in its ranitidine formulation.

J B Chemicals is also working on new drug delivery systems (NDDS) in the fields of analgesics, cardiovascular drugs and NSAIDs, among others. The proposed sale of the company's Doktor Mom brand has yet to materialise and marketmen claim that more such brands could be put on the block depending on successful disposal of this brand.

Mody also said that the company has restructured and re-organised its operations to improve the operational effectiveness, leading to a reduction in cost and improved efficiency.

Company to sell arm

J B Chemicals plans to dispose of its subsidiary, McDA Agro, as part of its strategy to focus on its core pharmaceuticals business. McDA Agro essentially manufactures and markets cropprotection/booster pesticides like Jeewan and Jawan in India.

The company hopes to dispose this entity before the close of the current fiscal, though the proceeds are not expected be substantially high. McDA Agro, which has a facility at Vapi, registered a loss of Rs 5.12 lakhs on a turnover of Rs 10.64 lakhs in 1998-99.