Sun Pharma posts profit dive on U.S. pricing pressure

REUTERS - India's largest drugmaker Sun Pharmaceutical Industries reported a 59 percent plunge in second-quarter profit on Tuesday, hurt by generics pricing pressure in the United States.

Along with other Indian drugmakers, Sun Pharma has had sales dented by rising competition in the generics market and greater pricing scrutiny in the United States, though its quarterly results still beat analyst expectations.

Sun Pharma Managing Director Dilip Shanghvi cited the pricing environment for the second-quarter profit fall but said results had also been hit by the company's continued investment in its speciality drugs business.

Profit came in at 9.12 billion rupees ($139.5 million) in the three months to Sept. 30, compared with 22.35 billion rupees a year ago, the company said (http://bit.ly/2zVVJbv).

Analysts had expected a profit of 8.27 billion rupees, Thomson Reuters data shows.

Sun Pharma has also faced challenges in obtaining clearance for key factories under U.S. supply bans because of quality control issues.

U.S. sales for the quarter fell 44 percent to $309 million while sales from India rose 11 percent.

($1 = 65.3850 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Jessica Kuruthukulangara and Vishal Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and David Goodman)