Lupin posts surprise fourth-quarter loss on one-time charge

(Reuters) - Lupin Ltd, India's second-largest drugmaker by revenue, reported a surprise quarterly loss on Tuesday due to a one-time charge related to the acquisition of U.S.-based Gavis Pharmaceuticals LLC.

Shares of the company briefly hit their lowest since May 2013 after the results, and closed 0.5 percent lower.

Net loss https://www.bseindia.com/xml-data/corpfiling/AttachLive/e7c6ab0c-8379-424f-ab94-af18261a7f1e.pdf was 7.84 billion rupees ($115.57 million) for the fiscal fourth quarter ended March 31, compared with a profit of 3.80 billion rupees a year earlier and an estimate of 3.20 billion rupees profit in a Thomson Reuters poll of 15 analysts.

One-time impairment https://www.bseindia.com/xml-data/corpfiling/AttachLive/8ce2d9f5-925a-464f-af87-38f976906971.pdf charge was about 14.64 billion rupees on certain assets the company bought as part of the Gavis group acquisition.

Lupin bought privately held Gavis Pharmaceuticals in 2015 https://in.reuters.com/article/gavis-m-a-lupin/lupin-looks-to-revive-u-s-growth-with-880-mln-gavis-deal-idINKCN0PX0YE20150723 in a deal worth $880 million, in a bid to revive its growth in the United States.

Lupin, which specialises in oral contraceptives and drugs to treat diabetes and hypertension, said sales in the United States fell about 21.1 percent to 14.99 billion rupees, while domestic sales climbed 13.5 percent to 9.65 billion rupees.

($1 = 67.8375 Indian rupees)

(Reporting By Arnab Paul and Krishna V Kurup in Bengaluru, Editing by Biju Dwarakanath and Subhranshu Sahu)