Cipla clocks Rs 447 cr profit in Q1

Drug major Cipla on Wednesday reported a marginal rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 447.15 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2019.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 445.61 crore in the year-ago period, Cipla said in a filing to BSE.

Total revenue from operations stood at Rs 3,989.02 crore for the quarter under review as against Rs 3,938.99 crore for the same period a year ago.

"We witnessed a muted first quarter in FY'20 owing to a combination of external volatility and some conscious business decisions taken with the long-term sustainability in mind," Cipla MD and Global CEO Umang Vohra said.

The company's secondary growth in its flagship therapies in India and in the South Africa private market remained impressive, and its base business in the US saw year-on-year growth with increased revenue from recent high-value launches, he added.

"Our business fundamentals remain strong, and our overall base business profitability was maintained at healthy levels despite the volatility," Vohra said.

Cipla's growth drivers remain on track with sustained expansion of its basket of biosimilars in emerging markets, entry into new markets such as China to set up respiratory franchise, and further depth in the US specialty pipeline with Zemdri, he added.

The company received EIR for the Kurkumbh plant for the inspection by the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) from March 11-20, 2019, Cipla said.

Shares of Cipla ended at Rs 519.00 per scrip, up 3.76 per cent on BSE.