USFDA issues warning letter to Sun Pharma's Dadra unit; stock slips 2%

The fall came after the company announced that it has received a warning letter from USFDA for current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) violations at its Dadra facility

Sun Pharma stock falls: Shares of India’s largest domestic drug maker Sun Pharmaceuticals slipped as much as 1.90 per cent to hit an intraday low of Rs 1,475.55 per share on Thursday. 

The fall came after the company announced that it has received a warning letter from United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) violations at its Dadra facility.

In an exchange filing, Sun Pharmaceuticals said, “This is to inform you that the company has received a Warning Letter from USFDA for its Dadra facility.”

The contents of the Warning Letter, meanwhile, shall be made public by the USFDA in due course, the company added.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., commonly known as Sun Pharma, is a Mumbai-based multinational pharmaceutical company. It is the largest pharmaceutical company in India.It operates globally with a strong presence in markets like the United States, India, Europe, and others.

The company specialises in manufacturing and marketing a wide range of pharmaceutical formulations in various therapeutic areas such as psychiatry, neurology, cardiology, orthopaedics, ophthalmology, dermatology, gastroenterology, and oncology, among others.

Financial performance

Sun Pharmaceutical’s consolidated profit zoomed 33.8 per cent to Rs 2,654.6 crore for March quarter of financial year 2024 (Q4FY24), from Rs 1,984.5 crore in the same quarter a year ago (Q4FY23). Sequentially, profit rose 5.2 per cent from Rs 2,523.75 crore in the last quarter (Q3FY24).

The company's total revenue from operations rose 9.6 per cent annually to Rs 11,982.9 crore, from Rs 10,930.7 crore in Q4FY24. However, revenue dropped marginally by 3.2 per cent sequentially, from Rs 12,380.7 crore reported in Q3FY24.

Sun Pharma’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) grew by 8.3 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 3,034 crore while Ebitda margin increased 70 basis points to 25.3 per cent.

India formulation sales surged 10.2 per cent annually to Rs 3,707 crore, contributing 31.4 per cent to the total consolidated sales.

Meanwhile, Sun Pharma's US formulation sales hit $476 million, marking a 10.9 per cent increase from the previous year, while sales in emerging markets were up by 10.8 per cent at $245 million for the quarter. 

The board of the company recommended a final dividend of Rs 5 per equity share of Re 1, for the financial year 2023-24. The board also approved the appointment of Dilip Shanghvi, the managing director, as the chairman of the board with immediate effect. 

At 10:51 AM, shares of Sun Pharma were trading 1.68 per cent lower at Rs 1,478.85 per share. In comparison, BSE Sensex was trading marginally higher at 77,351.46 levels.