Torrent Pharma net profit drops 16% to Rs 249 crore in third quarter

Torrent Pharmaceuticals on Tuesday said its consolidated net profit declined by 16 per cent to Rs 249 crore for the third quarter ended December 2021 on account of muted performance in the US market.

The drug maker had posted a net profit of Rs 297 crore in the October-December period of 2020-21 fiscal.

The company's revenue from operations in the third quarter stood at Rs 2,108 crore as compared to Rs 1,995 crore in the same period of previous fiscal, Torrent Pharmaceuticals said in a statement.

"Due to the prolonged delays in reinspection of our US facilities on account of the pandemic, coupled with higher than anticipated pricing pressure, our US business has been adversely affected during this quarter," Torrent Pharmaceuticals Chairman Samir Mehta noted.

The company remains hopeful of its prospects in the US market as soon as the facilities are reinspected, he added.

The firm has also initiated cost optimisation measures which should help it get back on track with respect to margins in the upcoming quarters, Mehta stated.

"Our India business continues to be on a strong footing delivering significantly higher than market growth during the quarter," he noted.

The company said its US revenues during the period under review stood at Rs 235 crore, a year-on-year drop of 20 per cent. India revenues rose by 15 per cent to Rs 1,072 crore.

The company's board has declared an interim dividend of Rs 25 per equity share (500 per cent), it said.