Sun Pharma posts surprise Rs 2,184 cr Q1 pre-tax loss on one-time expense

Firm's US revenue dips 33.5%; one-time loss of Rs 3,633 cr pertains to $213.3 mn pzayment by Taro, a Sun Pharma subsidiary, for settlement of anti-trust cases in the US

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, the country’s largest drugmaker, reported a surprise loss in the first quarter hit by one-time charges. The company’s US business posted a 33.5 per cent decline during the quarter, while India sales were up 3.2 per cent on a year-on-year (YoY) basis. Consolidated sales from operations at Rs 7,467 crore, a decline of about 9.6 per cent over same quarter last year. 

Sun Pharma posted a loss before tax of Rs 2,183.9 crore, as compared to a profit before tax of Rs 1,647.4 crore in the corresponding quarter previous year. 

The firm posted a net loss of Rs 1,655 crore for the quarter ended June 30. In the corresponding period previous year, the company had posted a net profit of Rs 1,387.48 crore. Sun Pharma stock was up 4.2 per cent on the BSE to Rs 531.75 apiece. 

Sun Pharma’s Q1 numbers were impacted, as it took a one-time exceptional loss of Rs 3,633 crore. Taro reported settlements and loss contingencies of $478.9 million, which reflect the one-time settlement charge of $418.9 million related to the global resolution of the Department of Justice investigations into the US generic pharmaceutical industry. An additional provision of $60 million has been taken for the related ongoing multi-jurisdiction civil antitrust matters. Sun Pharma, however, said the ultimate outcome of the antitrust matters could not be predicted with certainty. 

Excluding the exceptional items of Rs 3,633 crore, adjusted net profit for Q1 was at Rs 1,146 crore. At an operating level, the Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) was at Rs 1,725 crore, with a resulting Ebitda margin of 23.1 per cent. 

The India sales came in at Rs 2,388 crore, growing by 3.2 per cent over last year Q1, while sales in the US were down by 33.5 per cent on a YoY basis. 

Sun Pharma said the US numbers were not strictly comparable, as it included a one-time contribution from the special business in the US last year. Hence, it has a high base effect. Emerging markets revenues were down 10.5 per cent, while the Rest of the World sales were down 18.5 per cent. 

“We have not lost market share in any of the key products in the US or other markets. We witnessed the impact of lockdown on our US specialty business,” said Managing Director Dilip Shanghvi. The R&D investments were 5.6 per cent of sales or Rs 421 crore. Of this 39 per cent was for specialty products. 

Sun Pharma’s India Business Head Kirti Ganorkar said the company had retained its market share (8.2 per cent of the domestic market) in Q1 and have almost completed expansion of field force.