Weak US sales take toll on Lupin Q1 performance, stock slides 4.5%

North America sales fall by a quarter, indicating intense pricing pressures

Lupin’s June quarter (Q1) performance was significantly below expectations, and again stumped the Street. Lupin’s stock, which had outperformed the Sensex since July, thus fell 4.5 per cent on Wednesday. With no immediate triggers, analysts say it may languish for some time.

The Street was expecting strong growth in domestic sales to lift the company’s Q1 performance, amidst expectations of a marginal decline in US revenues. While the domestic market, which accounts for a third of Lupin’s topline, did grow 31 per cent year-on-year (adjusted for excise duty) and 24 per cent sequentially, North American sales fell 26 per cent y-o-y