Hyderabad, Jan. 28: The Secunderabad-based Matrix Laboratories Ltd said on Wednesday it has posted a net profit of Rs 33.41 crore in the third quarter of 2003, compared to the Rs 30.30 crore in the same previous-year quarter.

Matrix had gross sales of Rs 144.19 crore in the third quarter of 2003-04, up 83.12 per cent over the Rs 78.74 crore in the year-ago quarter, a company release said.

Higher growth in sales was made possible with a good contribution from new products besides increase in Citalopram sales in absolute numbers,² it said. ³The net profit for the quarter works out to be an annualised earnings per share of Rs 108.69 on a paid up capital of Rs.12.30 crore,² it added.

It said the company¹s board had declared an interim dividend of Rs 5 per share. The shareholders had approved the board¹s resolution to issue 22,50,000 equity shares at a price of Rs 1,500 per share of Rs 10 each, equally to India Newbridge Investments Ltd and Maxwell (Mauritius) Pte Ltd, an investment vehicle of Singapore Government-owned Temasek Holdings.

The number of Drug Master Files filed by Matrix with the US Food and Drug Administration had increased to 12 at the end of Q3, it said, adding that European generic companies using Matrix¹s bulk drug for the manufacture of Citalopram had won a patent related case against Lundbeck in Denmark on January 26.