Nigeria, July 24 -- Pharmaceutical firm Fidson Healthcare, whose stock is up 99.6 per cent this year, enlarged net profit by 28.2 per cent in the year to June, relative to the same period of last year, enabled by a fairly strong top-line increase.

Its unaudited accounts published on Friday put revenue at N74.5 billion, up from N62.6 billion, and noted improvement in over-the-counter and prescription drugs as the catalysts of growth.

Population surge pressure in Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, is fast fuelling a buoyant demand for drugs, especially ethical drugs on which Fidson has anchored sales in recent times.

Ethical or prescription drugs alone accounted for more than three-fifths of turnover for Fidson last year, making 20...