Wockhardt's Q2 profit dives, hit by US and UK export curbs

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Wockhardt Ltd posted its smallest profit in six quarters, hurt by curbs on shipping medicines to the United States and Britain from one of its factories after their health regulators identified deficiencies at the plant.

Indian medicine makers, which produce nearly 40 percent of generic and over-the-counter drugs for the United States, have recently been battered by a rash of regulatory rebukes including a record fine for Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd .

Wockhardt has said a U.S. import alert, reported in May, could cost it about $100 million in annual sales. It has subsequently taken measures to improve quality oversight at its factories, including the appointment of a new quality chief and hiring of outside consultants.

It posted a net profit of 1.4 billion rupees for the three months ended September 30, compared with 4.5 billion rupees a year ago. Revenues fell 11 percent to 12 billion rupees, the company said in a statement on Friday.

The average estimate for the company's net profit was 2.4 billion rupees, according to a Reuters poll of two brokerages.

Earlier this month, the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency hit the company with restrictions on exports from two other factories, highlighting the struggle Wockhardt and other Indian drugmakers face in complying with foreign regulatory norms.

"The financial results are not something the market is looking at. The market is more focused and concerned about the regulatory actions," said Jagannadham Thunuguntla, head of research at SMC Global Securities.

"It's not a question of a project or contract loss, but it's a question of credibility now."

The fresh export curbs are expected to weigh further on Wockhardt's future results, and analysts at Macquarie anticipate that resolution of the regulatory hurdles is unlikely before fiscal year 2016.

The United States and Europe accounted for three-quarters of the company's revenues in the last fiscal year.

(Reporting by Aradhana Aravindan and Sumeet Chatterjee; Editing by Jeremy Laurence)