Lupin's net profit jumps nearly four-fold on strong US growth, stock up

US sales cross $200 million for the first time in two years, beat analyst expectations

Mumbai-based pharmaceutical firm Lupin reported a net profit of Rs 489.7 crore for the quarter – a jump of almost four-times from Rs 129.7 crore in the same period last year. The gains came primarily on growth in the United States market, which accounts for 38 per cent of the company’s global sales.

Sales for the quarter grew by 21 per cent to Rs 4939.2 crore. Sequentially, the net profit has clocked an 8 per cent growth, while sales have grown by 4.15 per cent. Operating profit, or Ebitda, doubled year-on-year to Rs 917.76 crore.

Lupin stock was up marginally in morning trade after the firm released the numbers late last night. 

“We delivered growth across all our target geographies, while managing costs and achieving operating leverage, thereby driving strong topline and bottomline growth,” Nilesh Gupta, managing director, Lupin Ltd, said. 

He added that the US launch of Tiotropium DPI, a bronchodilator, was the highlight of the quarter, making inhalation a substantial portion of their US sales.

“Our India business continues to do well, with growth in our target therapies ahead of the market. We are also making progress on our goal of becoming best in class in quality and compliance with both our Nagpur-1 and Mandideep-2 facilities receiving satisfactory inspection closures,” Gupta said.

North America sales for Q2FY2024 were Rs 1866.6 crore, up 17.4 per cent compared to Q1FY2024 and up 40.4 per cent as compared to Q2FY2023. US sales crossed $200 million for the first time in two years, coming in at $213 million, which beat analyst expectations. In the December quarter of fiscal 2022, the US sales had crossed $200 million, when the company had launched its generic version of Spiriva inhaler.

The company received 11 abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) approvals from the US Food and Drug Administration, and launched one product in the quarter in the US. The company now has 157 generic products in the US. Lupin continues to be the third-largest pharmaceutical player in both the US generic market and the US total market by prescriptions (IQVIA, September 2023). 

Lupin's India business, which contributes 34 per cent to global sales, grew by 7 per cent year-on-year to Rs 1,691.5 crore. This was in line with analyst expectations.

At Rs 475.9 crore, Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA) sales grew by 24 per cent compared to last year.