To
The Shareholders
The Directors hereby present their 47th Annual Report together with the
Audited Financial Statements of the Company for the year ended March 31, 2025.
(Rs. in Crores)
|
2024-25 |
2023-24 |
(Consolidated Accounts) |
|
|
Turnover (Net) |
196.19 |
173.57 |
Other Income |
11.38 |
10.38 |
Total Income |
207.57 |
183.95 |
Financial Cost |
4.26 |
3.76 |
Depreciation |
4.01 |
3.57 |
Profit/Loss before extra-ordinary Income |
11.19 |
9.36 |
Net Profit/ (Loss) before |
|
|
Exceptional Items & Taxation |
11.83 |
6.65 |
Net Profit (Loss) |
4.93 |
5.68 |
Your directors regret their inability to recommend payment of any
dividend.
Consolidated Results:
The company has demonstrated an increase in both turnover and net
profit, reflecting strong operational and financial performance. Looking ahead, the
company remains committed to achieving even greater milestones.
Its focused subsidiaries have recorded significant progress in key
areas including Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) manufacturing, Molecular
Diagnostics, niche Effervescent products, and the development of indigenously manufactured
testing instruments under the "Made in India" initiative.
Maintaining a clear emphasis on disease-based solutions, the company
continues to leverage its robust technological capabilities in both healthcare and
electronics. These competencies are expected to serve as key growth drivers in the years
to come.
Asence Group:
Asence Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company,
specializes in the supply of quality pharmaceutical preparation (Finished Dosage Forms and
Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients) to the international markets.
Asence is developing some novel products for the European and US
markets using the infrastructure of the group companies.
Asence through its operations in India and USA, markets and distributes
pharmaceutical preparations worldwide and has more than 100 registered products
internationally with an impressive pipeline and capability for development of new
medicines.
The new Oncology and Synthetic API plant at Ranoli, Vadodara has filed
for European and US regulatory accreditations.
The new API plant is set up to meet all domestic and international
regulatory standards and will manufacture niche molecules that have a global requirement.
Sarabhai Chemicals (India) Pvt. Ltd.:
Sarabhai Chemicals, a subsidiary Company, has made inroads in the
domestic market with key strategic products in Oncology, Infertility and Uro-gynaec areas.
The NCLT has approved scheme of arrangement in the nature of demerger
and vesting of the oncology and profertility division of SCIPL in to Asence Pharma Private
Limited wide order dated 25.10.2024.
It has entered in to a marketing tie-up with an external company to
boost its sales.
Suvik Hitek Pvt. Ltd.:
Suvik, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, is manufacturing
Pharmaceuticals products and marketing Generics and Veterinary products in the domestic
market.
Synbiotics Limited:
Synbiotics is a USFDA inspected manufacturing Company in the
fermentation area. It manufactures an antifungal active ingredient Amphotericin B
product which has an expanding global market.
Systronics (India) Limited:
It has two divisions Systronics & Telerad.
SYSTRONICS is a leading manufacturer of Analytical and Test &
Measuring instruments distributing its products across India. It has various new products
launched/in the pipeline and are progressing well in the Indian market.
TELERAD is one of the oldest representatives of SONY in India and
promotes Broadcast and Professional Video/ Audio products of various International
Companies across India. Roland, Sennheiser, Haivision and many other International
agencies have alliances with Telerad.
Sarabhai M. Chemicals Ltd.:
Sarabhai M Chemicals Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary company is
increasing its Vitamin C coated products manufacturing.
Joint Venture Companies:
Vovantis Laboratories Pvt. Ltd.:
Vovantis, a joint venture Company has a USFDA approved manufacturing
plant in Ranoli. Its effervescent and general products have an increased focused in the
USA and European markets. Its products are sold worldwide.
CoSara Diagnostics Pvt. Ltd.:
CoSara, a joint venture company, has the exclusive manufacturing rights
in India for the complete menu of its US partner Co-Diagnostics Inc. infectious
disease molecular diagnostics kits.
The company has invested in a portable and affordable PCR machine that
can test for Tuberculosis (TB) and Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) in an effective and easy
way and can be the perfect solution for large scale screening. Currently it has more than
fifteen IVD approved Molecular tests manufactured at its plant in Ranoli, Gujarat and sold
across India and exported as well.
Corporate Governance:
Pursuant to provisions of SEBI (LODR), Regulations, 2015, Management
Discussion and Analysis Report, Corporate Governance Report and Auditors' Certificate
regarding Compliance of Conditions of Corporate Governance are made part of the Annual
Report.
Subsidiaries:
The Company has 8 (eight) subsidiaries and 2 (two) joint ventures and
one associate company. Their performance is integrated in the consolidated accounts.
Consolidated Financial Statement:
In compliance of the Accounting Standard AS-21 on Consolidated
Financial Statement, the Consolidated Financial Statements, which form part of the Annual
Report and Accounts, are attached herewith.
Directors and Key Managerial Personnel:
The Board of Directors consists of 10 (Ten) members, of which 5 (five)
are Independent Directors, 3 (three) executive directors and 2 (two) nominee directors.
The Board includes two Woman Directors. The Board consists of Mr. Kartikeya V. Sarabhai
(Executive Chairman), Mr. Mohal K. Sarabhai (Managing Director), Ms. Chaula M. Shastri
(Whole-time Director), Five Independent Directors, Mr. Brijesh Khandelwal, Mr.
Govindprasad Namdeo, Mr. Mayur Swadia, Dr. Pushpa Robin and Mr. Satyen Dave and two
Nominee Directors, Mr. Ajay Mayor and Mr. Bharatendu Jani.
As per the provisions of Section 203 of the Companies Act, 2013, Mr.
Kartikeya V. Sarabhai (Executive Director), Mr. Mohal K. Sarabhai (Managing
Director), Ms. Chaula M. Shastri (Whole-time Director), Mr. Jinal Shah (Chief Financial
Officer) and Ms. Disha M. Punjani (Company Secretary); are the Key Managerial Personnel of
the Company.
During the financial year 2024-25, Mr. Navinchandra Patel (CFO)
resigned w.e.f. 29.06.2024 and Mr. Jinal Shah was appointed as CFO of the Company w.e.f.
26.07.2024.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 152 of the Companies Act, 2013,
Mr. Mohal K. Sarabhai (DIN: 00334441) is the director retiring by rotation and being
eligible has offered himself for re-appointment. Pursuant to Regulation 36 of Securities
& Exchange Board of India (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements)
Regulations, 2015 ("SEBI (LODR)") read with Secretarial Standard-2 on General
Meeting, brief profile of the Director re-appointed is appended to the Notice of Annual
General Meeting.
Declaration by Independent Directors:
The Independent Director have submitted the declaration of
independence, as required pursuant to Section 149(7) of the Companies act, 2013 stating
that they meet the criteria of independence as provided in sub-section (6).
Annual Evaluation:
The Board of Directors has carried out an annual Evaluation of its own
performance, Board Committees and individual Directors pursuant to the provisions of the
Act and the Corporate Governance requirements as prescribed by Securities & Exchange
Board of India (SEBI) under Listing Regulation.
The performance of the Board was evaluated by the Board after seeking
inputs from the Directors on the basis of the criteria such as Board composition and
structure, effectiveness of board processes, information and functioning, etc.
The performance of the Committees was evaluated by the Board after
seeking inputs from the Committee members on the basis of the criteria such as the
composition of Committees, effectiveness of the Committees Meeting, etc.
The Board and the Nomination and Remuneration Committee (NRC) reviewed
the performance of the individual Directors including the Chairman and other Executive and
Non-Executive Directors on the basis of the criteria such as the contribution of the
individual Director to the Board and Committee Meetings like preparedness on the issues to
be discussed, meaningful and constructive contribution and inputs in meetings, etc. NRC
found their performance satisfactory.
Particulars of Loans, Guarantees or Investments:
Information regarding loans, guarantees and Investments covered under
the provisions of section 186 of the Companies Act, 2013 are detailed in the financial
statements.
Related Party Transactions:
Since all the related party transactions are carried out in the
ordinary course of business on arm's length basis such transactions entered into by
the Company during the financial year did not attract the provisions of Section 188 of the
Companies Act, 2013. There are no materially significant related party transactions made
by the Company with Promoters, Directors, Key Managerial Personnel or other designated
persons which may have a potential conflict with the interest of the Company at large and
thus a disclosure in Form AOC-2 in terms of Section 134 of the Act is not required.
However a disclosure in this regard is provided in Annexure-A.
None of the Non-Executive Directors has any pecuniary relationship or
transactions with the Company other than sitting fees payable to them.
During the year 2024-25, pursuant to Section 177 of the Companies Act,
2013 and SEBI (LODR) Regulations, 2015 all RPTs were placed before Audit Committee for its
prior/ omnibus approval.
Material Changes and Commitments:
There have been no material changes and commitments, affecting the
financial position of the Company, which have occurred between the end of the financial
year of the Company and the date of this Report.
Number of Meetings of the Board:
There were 4 (Four) Meetings of the Board held during the year.
Detailed information is given in the Corporate Governance Report.
Extract of Annual Return:
Extract of Annual Return is available on the website of Company
www.ase.life
P o l i c y o f D i r e c t o r 's A p p o i n t m e n t a n d
Remuneration and other details:
The Company's policy on director's appointment and
remuneration and other matters provided in Section 178(3) of the Act has been followed by
Nomination and Remuneration Committee or Key Managerial Personnel. They have fixed
criteria for appointment of directors and Key Managerial Persons. Every year their
performance is evaluated by the Committee and accordingly suitable recommendations are
made.
Internal Financial Control Systems and their adequacy:
The Company has an Internal Control System commensurate with size,
scale and complexity of its operations. The Company has appointed an Independent Internal
Auditor who carries out Internal Auditing works according to policies and rules framed to
monitor and control financial transactions within the Company and submits his report at
every quarter which is put before the Audit Committee for their perusal.
Audit Committee:
The details pertaining to composition of Audit Committee are included
in the Corporate Governance Report which forms part of this report.
Risk Management:
The Audit Committee of the Company is assigned the task to frame,
implement and monitor the risk management plan of the Company. The Committee is
responsible for reviewing the risk management plan and ensuring its effectiveness. The
Audit Committee has additional oversight in the area of financial risks and controls.
Major risks identified by the business and functions are systematically addressed through
mitigating actions on a continuing basis.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR):
During the year under review the Company is not required to comply with
the provisions related to Corporate Social Responsibility on the basis of its financial
statement.
Particular of Employees:
The information required U/s. 197 of the Act read with rule 5(1) of the
Companies (Appointment and Remuneration of Management Personnel) Rules, 2014 will be
provided upon request in terms of section 136 of the Act, the reports and accounts are
being sent to the members and other excluding the information on employees'
particulars, which is available for inspection by members at the registered office of the
Company during 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on working days of the Company up to the date of
AGM. If any Member is interested in obtaining a copy thereof, he/she may write to
Secretarial Department of the Company. There is no employee drawing salary in excess of
limit prescribed in Rule 5(2) of the Companies (Appointment and Remuneration of Managerial
Personnel) Rules, 2014.
Fixed Deposits:
The Company has not accepted any fixed deposit during the year neither
there was any unpaid/unclaimed amount of deposit at the beginning of the year or at the
end of the year.
Details of Significant Orders passed by Regulators or Courts:
There is no significant or material order passed by any Regulators or
courts during the financial year.
Disclosure Pursuant to section 197(14) of the Companies Act 2013
Mr. Mohal K. Sarabhai, Managing Director is paid Re. 1/- per month as a
token for Ambalal Sarabhai Enterprises Limited and he is drawing remuneration from Asence
Pharma Private Limited, Synbiotics Limited, Systronics India Limited and Asence INC, USA.
Other than him no Whole time director of the Company was in receipt of any remuneration/
commission from the company's holding/ subsidiary companies during the financial
year.
Details of Establishment of Vigil Mechanism:
The Company has formulated Whistle Blower policy to establish a vigil
mechanism for directors and employees of the Company to report concerns about unethical
behavior, actual or suspended fraud or violation of Company's code of conduct policy.
Details under Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention,
Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013:
The Company has established Internal Complaints Committee to redress
the complaints received from any woman employee of the Company as required under the
provisions of the Act.
Fraud Reporting:
There was no fraud reporting by the Auditors of the Company u/s.
143(12) of the Companies Act, 2013 to the Audit Committee or the Board of Directors during
the year under review.
Energy Conservation, Technology Absorption and Foreign Exchange
earnings and outgo:
Particulars of Energy Conservation, Technology Absorption and Foreign
Exchange earnings and outgo required to be given, are given in the Annexure to this Report
in the prescribed format.
Directors' Responsibility Statement:
Pursuant to Section 134(5) of the Companies Act, 2013 the Board of
Directors of the Company confirms that-
a) In the preparation of the annual accounts for the year ended
31.03.2025, the applicable accounting standards have been followed along with proper
explanation relating to material departures, if any.
b) The Directors have selected such accounting policies and applied
them consistently and made judgments and estimates that are reasonable and prudent so as
to give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Company as on 31.03.2025 and
of the profit of the Company for the year ended on that date.
c) The Directors have taken proper and sufficient care for the
maintenance of adequate accounting records in accordance with the provisions of the Act
for safeguarding the assets of the Company and for preventing and detecting fraud and
other irregularities.
d) The Directors have prepared the annual accounts on a going
concern' basis.
e) The Company has laid down Internal Financial Controls to be followed
by the Company and that such Internal Financial Controls are adequate and were operating
effectively.
f) The Directors have devised proper systems to ensure compliance with
the provisions of all applicable laws and that such system are adequate and operating
effectively.
Business Responsibility Report (BRR)
The SEBI (LODR) Regulations, 2015 mandate the inclusion of the BRR as
part of the Annual Report for top 1000 listed entities based on market capitalization.
Business Responsibility Reporting is not applicable to the Company.
Insurance:
Building, Plant and Machinery and Stocks, have been adequately insured.
Auditors: -
(A) Internal Auditors
M/s. Gautam Joshi and Co LLP (Formerly known as Gautam Joshi & Co.)
Chartered Accountants has been appointed as Internal Auditor for the Financial Year
2024-25. The Internal Auditors reports to the Audit Committee of the Board, which helps to
maintain its objectivity and independence. The scope and authority of the Internal Audit
function is defined by Audit Committee. The Significant audit observations and corrective
actions thereon are presented to the Audit Committee of the Board.
(B) Statutory Auditors
Pursuant to section 139 of the Companies Act, 2013 and the Rules made
there under, M/s. Sorab S. Engineers & Co. Chartered Accountants, (Firm Registration
No. 110417W), are appointed as Auditors by the Members in the AGM held on 21.09.2022 to
hold office until the conclusion of 47th Annual General Meeting, to be held in the year
2027.
The Statutory Auditor's comment on your Company's account for
the year ended March 31, 2025 are self-explanatory in nature and do not require any
explanation. The Auditor's Report does not contain any qualification or adverse
remarks.
(C) Secretarial Auditor
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 204 of the Companies Act, 2013
and the Companies (Appointment and Remuneration of Managerial Personnel) Rules, 2014, the
Company has appointed M/s. RPSS & Co., a firm of Company Secretaries in Practice to
undertake the Secretarial Audit of the Company for FY 2024-25. The Secretarial Audit
Report issued is appended to this report as annexure. As there is no qualification,
reservation or adverse remark made by the Auditors in their report, the report issued is
self-explanatory and need no further clarification.
Acknowledgement:
Your Directors would like to take opportunity to express their deep
sense of gratitude to the Banks, Government Authorities, Customers and Shareholders for
their continuous guidance and support. Further they would also like to place on record
their sincere appreciation for dedication and hard work put in by one and all Members of
Sarabhai Pariwar including workers.
|
For and on behalf on the Borad |
|
Kartikeya V. Sarabhai |
|
Chairman |
Date : 30.05.2025 |
|
Place : Vadodara |
|
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