Lupin expects single digit sales growth this fiscal

Drug maker Lupin expects single digit sales growth this fiscal with sluggish US business likely to impact overall global business of the company.

The Mumbai-based company, however, is anticipating double digit growth in Latin America, South Africa and India.

"We expect to grow at a single digit growth rate for the current year and then expect to get back on a stronger growth path next year on," Lupin Managing Director Nilesh Gupta told PTI.

While the company has pressures in the US, it expects to see good growth in most emerging markets, he added.

"Latin America will grow around mid-to-late 20s in percentage terms, South Africa around 20 per cent and India around 15 per cent," Gupta said.

The drug maker reported negative growth in 2017-18 for the first time in a decade, with net sales dropping to Rs 15,560 crore, a decline of 9 per cent from 2016-17.

During the last fiscal, company's North America sales declined by 28.7 per cent to Rs 5,893.9 crore, accounting for 38 per cent of its total global sales.

On the other hand, India sales increased by 10.7 per cent to Rs 4,125.3 crore. Similarly, Latin America business grew by 28.1 per cent, Europe, Middle-East and Africa (EMEA) by 11.2 per cent, Asia Pacific by 13.5 per cent.

The drug maker had also reported a growth of 1.6 per cent in its active pharmaceuticals business (API) business in last fiscal.