 "Cipla")
Cipla on Friday posted a 43.4 per cent rise in profit for the September quarter at Rs 1,131 crore, with its highest-ever quarterly revenue of Rs 6,678 crore, up 14.6 per cent year-on-year (YoY).
The earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (Ebitda) stood at 26 per cent, up 380 basis points.
On a sequential basis, the revenue was up 5.5 per cent from Rs 6,329 crore in Q1FY24, and profit after tax (PAT) surged 13.5 per cent from Rs 996 crore in the first quarter of the financial year.
Cipla beat Bloomberg estimates which had pegged revenues at around Rs 6,490 crore and net income at Rs 984 crore.
Revenue from its India business rose 10 per cent Y-o-Y, riding on branded prescription and generic businesses. North America sales stood at $229 million, showing a 28 per cent Y-o-Y growth and 3 per cent quarter-on-quarter (Q-o-Q) growth. The South Africa private market registered a 12 per cent Y-o-Y growth in local currency terms on the back of prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) growth. Cipla had acquired Actor Pharma in South Africa during the quarter to enhance its OTC portfolio.
“We reported our highest-ever quarterly revenue with Ebitda margins scaling up to 26 per cent. India business grew at a healthy 10% Y-o-Y with continued market-beating performance in the branded prescription and Trade Generics business,” said Umang Vohra, managing director and global chief executive officer, Cipla.
Strong sales of some products in the US and lower anti-infective sales in India drove the margins. Anti-infective is a low-margin category. The benefits of price correction in India were also seen in the second quarter.
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Commenting on the market reports stating that Cipla promoters are looking to sell their entire stake in the company, Vohra said, “The organisation and the promoters are different entities...we have not heard anything on the transactions, and we have maintained that these are speculative. We would disclose it to the public when there is any development.”
Vohra also said that these speculations won’t impact the company’s future capex plans. Usually, the annual capex is around Rs 1,500 crore.
"In Cipla we have always believed in investing for the future. Having said that, how human beings engage with the organisation, and how they are affected, is something to be seen," Vohra added.
He also admitted that the time taken in resolution of USFDA warnings in the Indore plant may delay product launches by 6 months. The company had started shifting products (generic Advair) to other sites like Long Island in the US four months back. Some of the respiratory assets from Goa are also being shifted.
“Our pipeline is progressing really well with key milestones achieved in Respiratory and Peptide assets. We will continue our focus on driving profitable growth across businesses,” Vohra noted.
R&D investments stood at Rs 379 crore or 5.7 per cent of sales, higher by 13 per cent Y-o-Y driven by continued progress of clinical trials on key pipeline assets, the company said. The company has a net cash position of Rs 5,850 crore.
