Sun Pharma net up 32% on export growth, better margins

Net profit rose to Rs.881 cr from the year ago quarter’s Rs.668 cr; exports grew 42% and margins widened substantially

 

A file photo of Sun Pharma office in Mumbai.

Mumbai: Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, India’s most valuable drug maker, posted a 32% increase in third-quarter net profit as it boosted overseas sales and benefited from a higher contribution from its Israeli unit.

Net profit rose to Rs.881 crore from the year ago quarter’s Rs.668 crore, the company said on Friday. Exports grew 42% and margins widened substantially, helping the company beat analysts’ estimates.

Israeli subsidiary Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd helped boost Sun Pharma’s sales, which rose by one-third to Rs.2,852 crore in the fiscal third quarter from Rs.2,145 crore a year ago.

“Sun Pharmaceutical’s numbers were well ahead of expectations both on the top and bottom line front. While the top line (sales) growth came in on the back of export growth, the increase in margins came ahead of expectations at 44.2%. This aided the net profit growth to come in much higher than expected,” said Sarabjit Kour Nangra, vice-president, pharma research, at brokerage Angel Broking Ltd.

Sun Pharma said in a statement on Friday that its branded generic sales in India, at Rs.788 crore, were up 13% from a year ago. In the US, finished dosage sales grew 32% to $276 million.

“For Sun Pharma, we were expecting sales, operational profit and net profit to be Rs.2,786 crore, Rs.1,200 crore and Rs.841 crore, respectively,” said Hitesh Mahida, industry analyst at Fortune Equity Brokers (India) Ltd.

Sales were 2.8% above the brokerage’s expectations and profit topped its estimate by 4.7% because of higher-than-expected growth in sales in the US and other overseas markets, said Mahida.

Sun Pharma’s international formulation sales rose 31% to $73 million.

At 1.44pm on Friday, Sun Pharma was trading at Rs.750.75 on BSE, up 0.27% from the previous close, while the benchmark Sensex was also up 0.27% at 19,597.22 points.

 

 

Avinash kumar

PGDM 2sem