Sun Pharma Q3 net profit up 74 pc at Rs 1,531 crore

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries today reported a 74 per cent increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 1,531.09 crore in the quarter ended December 31 on robust sales in the global markets.
Profit a year earlier was Rs 881.3 crore, Sun Pharma said in a statement.
Net sales climbed 50 per cent to Rs 4,286.59 crore from Rs 2,852.01 crore in the year-ago period.
Branded generic sales in India rose 20 per cent to Rs 947 crore, while finished dosage sales in the US grew 57 per cent to USD 434 million, it said.
According to market analysts, the top two pharma majors, Sun Pharma and Lupin, have beaten street expectations by a long margin on all counts. Lupin had posted a 42 per cent increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 476.1 crore in Q3.

International formulation sales outside the US were up 16 per cent at USD 84 million. International revenue accounted for more than 75 per cent of the total in the quarter.

"Our overall performance reflects the focus on execution of our strategy. We are developing a differentiated and specialty business and continue to evaluate opportunities to enhance our global presence," Sun Pharma Managing Director Dilip Shanghvi said.
Sun Pharma said it is ranked second with a 5.3 per cent share in India's Rs 74,000 crore pharmaceutical market, citing a December report by market research organisation AIOCD-AWACS.
Shares of the company gained 0.6 per cent to Rs 614.70 at the close on the BSE.

External sales of its active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) business posted a 17 per cent decline to Rs 174 crore, mainly due to increased captive consumption, the company said.
Consolidated R&D expenses were at Rs 306 crore, or 7.1 per cent of sales. During the period, the company filed abbreviated new drug applications (ANDA) for five products.
"After counting these, and adjusting for filings that were dropped, cumulatively ANDAs for 468 products have been filed with the USFDA (as on December 31)," the company said.
ANDAs for four products received approvals in the third quarter, taking the total number of approvals to 337.

Applications for 131 products await USFDA approval, including 14 tentative approvals, it said.
The company revised its consolidated revenue growth forecast to 29 per cent compared with the previous estimate of 25 per cent.
"The revised guidance takes into account the performance achieved in first nine months of the fiscal, higher base of Q4FY13 on consolidation of acquisitions as well as the risks associated with increase in competition for some products," it said.