REUTERS - Drugmaker Lupin Ltd (LUPN.NS) said on Monday second-quarter net profit fell more than 30 percent, as regulatory scrutiny and pricing pressure in the United States, its biggest market, dampened sales.
The decline was, however, offset by higher sales in India, its second biggest market, and the Asia-Pacific and EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) regions, which helped profit beat the consensus estimate.
India’s pharmaceutical firms, which supply a third of the drugs sold in the United States, have been grappling with weaker sales amid sanctions imposed by international regulatory bodies and warnings over quality control at production sites.
Margins too have been hit by increased scrutiny over drug pricing.
Lupin said sales in the United States fell about 32 percent to 13.61 billion rupees ($210 million), dragging down overall sales, which slipped 8 percent to 38.74 billion rupees.
Sales in India were up 16.4 percent at 11.59 billion rupees, while that from the Asia-Pacific and EMEA regions rose 15 percent and 17 percent, respectively.
Net profit fell to 4.55 billion rupees in the quarter ended Sept. 30, slightly above the average analysts' forecast of 4.33 billion rupees, Thomson Reuters data showed. bit.ly/2A0RvvN
Shares of the company jumped as much as 8.9 percent in early trade, but pared gains to close up 2.4 percent. The broader BSE Sensex ended 0.4 percent higher.
($1 = 64.8100 Indian rupees)
Reporting by Jessica Kuruthukulangara in Bengaluru; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Biju Dwarakanath
