Sources close to the company said that part of the income accruing from the deal may be reflected in the third-quarter results. Ranbaxy's official spokesperson, however, stuck by the company's August 13 statement that "it will not offer any comments on such speculation."

Industry sources say that the Ranbaxy-Bayer AG licensing deal could see the Indian company rake in double digit royalty (in percentage terms) inflows on net sales (in markets where the patent is licensed to the German multinational) spread over 16 years. Significantly, indications are that the milestone payments and royalty inflows are unlikely to materialise before 2001.

Ranbaxy'sciprofloxacin NDDS is a single-day dose compared with the conventional prescription of two/three doses each day. The Delhi-based company says that it is working towards delivering one NDDS every two years and areas of active interest include anti-infectives, anti-histamines and the cardiovascular segment.

Meanwhile, the Ranbaxy scrip was quite strong on the bourses on Wednesday. Despite immense selling pressure during the closing hours, the counter showed strong resistance on both bourses.

The scrip closed marginally higher on the NSE, at Rs 1,141 compared with its previous close of Rs 1,116 on Wednesday. On the BSE, the stock closed lower at Rs 1,128 against Rs 1,134 on Tuesday. Since June 18, the Ranbaxy scrip which was at the Rs 680 level, has gained more than 65 per cent to close at Rs 1,128 on the BSE on Wednesday.

Significantly, on both the bourses, the Ranbaxy scrip topped the turnover table with the combined volumes pegged at over 40 lakh shares. While the day's total turnover on the counter onthe BSE was Rs 236 crore, the corresponding figure on the NSE was Rs 250 crore.