Sun Pharma Q3 net dips 5% to Rs 1,471 cr on slower sales in US

Sun also said sales in its emerging markets rose 14% and those in the rest of the world were up 33%

Drug maker Sun Pharmaceutical Industries reported 4.7 per cent fall in its consolidated net profit in Q3 FY 2017 on a year on year basis owing to muted revenue growth in the US and higher tax outgo.

Net profit for the period was Rs 1,471 crore as against Rs 1,544 crore in same quarter last year. The fall in profit was largely due to tax expense which quadrupled to Rs 372 crore on a year on year basis.

Total revenue rose 8 per cent to Rs 7,683 crore in the quarter under review but US business grew a modest 4 per cent largely due to weak performance by its US subsidiary Taro. Sun Pharma is the country's largest drug maker and earns about 45 per cent of its revenue from the US market.

Sales for the quarter included the benefit of authorised generic sales of blood pressure tablets Olmesartan. In the third quarter the company earned $507 million from its US business.

Dilip Shanghvi, Managing Director of the company said: "While we continue to focus on growing our existing business, we are happy to invest our strong cash flows in enhancing our specialty pipeline, though currently without commensurate revenue streams. During the quarter, we commercialised BromSite, our first specialty ophthalmology product in the US. Post the close of the quarter, Ocular Technologies, a company which we had recently acquired, announced positive results for Seciera Phase-3 trials demonstrating a rapid onset of action at 12 weeks of treatment for dry eye disease."