-- Net profit rises to 4.01 billion rupees compared with 3.14
billion rupees poll estimate
-- Sales for the quarter grew 24% from a year earlier to 19.17
billion rupees
-- Exports benefit from fall in rupee against dollar
-- Company trying to steer product mix away from lower-margin
drugs
(Recasts 1st paragraph, adds results details in 5th, 9th and
10th paragraphs)
By Rumman Ahmed
BANGALORE--Indian generic-drug maker Cipla Ltd. (500087.BY)
Tuesday topped market estimates with a 58% rise in first-quarter
net profit, benefiting from supplying of a copy of an
antidepressant drug to the U.S. and a weak local currency.
Net profit for the three months through June rose to 4.01
billion rupees ($71.9 million) from 2.53 billion rupees a year
earlier. That beat the 3.14 billion rupees average of forecasts in
a Dow Jones Newswires poll of 11 analysts.
Sales grew 24% to 19.17 billion rupees from 15.50 billion
rupees.
Cipla, one of India's largest generic-drug manufacturers,
received half its consolidated sales from selling pharmaceutical
raw materials, prescription and over-the-counter drugs and
veterinary products overseas. It also sells products in the local
market and offers technology for products and processes.
Exports of finished drugs jumped 23% to 8.10 billion rupees in
the quarter. This was better than the 15% growth in this segment in
the quarter through March and a 9.2% rise in the October-December
period last year.
Cipla's exports in the quarter benefited from a steep fall in
the Indian currency--the rupee was down about 17% over 12 months
against the U.S. dollar as of end-June. Cipla's currency hedges are
light and that allowed it to record current exchange rates while
converting its foreign revenue into rupees.
Exports in the quarter also benefited from supplying a generic
version of Forest Laboratories Inc.'s (FRX) antidepressant Lexapro
to Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (TEVA), which the Israeli
company had launched under sales exclusivity.
The company has also been trying to shift its product mix away
from the low-margin antiretroviral drugs business to shore up
margins.
The contribution from generic Lexapro supplies and an improved
product mix led its operating margin to expand to 28.0% in the
just-ended quarter from 23.5% a year earlier, Cipla said.
Local drugs sales rose 30% to 9.70 billion rupees in the
April-June period.
Write to Rumman Ahmed at rumman.ahmed@dowjones.com
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