High Rupee Hurts Dr. Reddy Profit; Cipla's Net Rises (India)
This article was originally published in PharmAsia News
Executive Summary
Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd. reports fiscal second-quarter net profit fell 4.5 percent, while Cipla Ltd. says its net profit rose 6.1 percent and forecast a difficult fiscal year coming up. Both firms were affected by the rising rupee. Dr. Reddy's consolidated net profit fell to 2.67 billion rupees ($67.4 million) for the period ended Sept. 30 from 2.8 billion rupees a year earlier, which was boosted by high-margin authorized generic drugs and product exclusivity. Besides the rupee, which has increased more than 10 percent against the dollar since January, Dr. Reddy's blamed costs and revenue from its Betapharm unit, which it acquired last year, for its weak performance. Cipla's net profit rose to 1.91 billion rupees from 1.80 billion rupees, with net sales increasing 23 percent to 10.98 billion rupees. "I will not be too optimistic about the next two quarters," said Joint Managing Director Amar Lulla. "Achieving an annual growth rate of 12 percent to 15 percent will be difficult given the way the rupee is appreciating." (Click here for more - May Require Paid Subscription