Cipla Q4 net drops 8.2 percent, lags estimates

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Drugmaker Cipla Ltd reported an 8.2 percent drop in quarterly net profit, lagging street estimates, as sales growth in its key domestic market slowed down.

The Mumbai-based company, India's fifth largest drugmaker by sales, said standalone net profit dropped to 2.68 billion rupees in the fiscal fourth quarter ended March compared to 2.92 billion rupees last year. Sales rose 5 percent to 19.06 billion rupees, it said.

Analysts, on an average, had estimated net profit at 3.25 billion rupees on sales of 20.86 billion rupees, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Valued $5.7 billion, shares in Cipla closed up 1.36 percent at 401.70 rupees on Wednesday, while the BSE Sensex fell 0.07 percent.

($1 = 55.92 rupees)

(Reporting by Kaustubh Kulkarni; Editing by Sunil Nair)