Hit by a one-time loss of Rs 12.14 billion caused by the Modafinil antitrust litigation and slow domestic business, generic pharmaceutical company Sun Pharma on Tuesday posted a consolidated loss of Rs 2.18 billion for the quarter ended September 30. Excluding the exceptional expenses, the net profit stood at Rs 9.96 billion.
The Mumbai-headquartered company had reported a profit of Rs 9.12 billion for the second quarter of the previous financial year, it said in a BSE filing.
The pharma giant had entered into settlements with certain plaintiffs in the Modafinil antitrust litigation matter in July last year.
The company also missed estimates on the revenue front, delivering a top line of Rs 69.37 billion, up a moderate 4.3 per cent from a year ago. Analysts had expected double-digit revenue growth for the quarter.
Sun Pharma Managing Director Dilip Shanghvi said, “Our soft Q2 performance is not a reflection of the underlying health of the overall business. We continue to focus on strengthening our core operations and enhancing our overall efficiencies. We are fairly positive on our performance for the rest of the year.”
“We are excited about the successful launch of Ilumya in the US,” he added. The psoriasis drug was launched in the US market in October.
The company, however, delivered operationally for the quarter, posting an operating profit of Rs 14.4 billion, resulting in an EBITDA margin of 21 per cent, as compared to the year ago period.
Sun Pharma’s India business was down 16 per cent over a year ago, on the back of a planned one-time inventory reduction in the supply chain coupled with a higher base of the year-ago period. The domestic business accounted for 27 per cent of total sales. Sales in other emerging markets were flat at $195 million for the quarter over Q2 last year.
The comoany's revenue from the US was $342 million for the quarter, up 11 per cent over same period last year and accounted for 35 per cent of its total sales. Its US subsidiary Taro’s Pharmaceutical’s net profit for Q2 was $63 million, up 19 per cent over the second quarter of FY18.