The rise net profit was aided by strong performance of US, Europe, emerging markets and active pharmaceutical ingredients business. Favorable foreign exchange too added to the profit.
Aurobindo Pharma, India's second largest drug maker's net profit rose 19.7 percent to Rs 712.2 crore in the third quarter ended December on a year-on-year (YoY) basis, beating analyst estimates.
The drug maker’s net profit stood at Rs 595 crore for the same quarter in the previous year, aided by its strong performance in the US, Europe and emerging markets, and its active pharmaceutical ingredients business. A favorable foreign exchange also added to its profits, with a net forex gain of Rs 50.5 crore.
Total income rose 21.5 percent to Rs 5,269.7 crore in Q3FY19 compared to previous year's Rs 4,336.1 crore.
Analysts were expecting a net profit of around Rs 650 crore and revenues at Rs 5000 crore.
The EBITDA margin for the quarter was 20.6 percent.
Sales of formulations or generic drugs, which contribute little over four-fifths of Aurobindo Pharma's total revenue, grew 21.8 percent to Rs 4,347.8 crore in Q3FY19, compared with Rs 3,570.2 crore in the year-ago period.
The US formulation business contributed 46.2 percent to the total revenue and grew 27.4 percent to Rs 2,433.2 crore.
The European Union formulations business contributed 24.5 percent of total revenue and grew 10.3 percent to Rs 1,292.8 crore on YoY basis in Q3FY19.
Sales from the rest-of-the-world grew 36.1 percent to Rs 340.5 crore, accounting for 6.5 percent of revenues.
The company's Research and Development (R&D) spend was at Rs 254.6 crore, which is 4.8 percent of its revenues. It has launched seven products, including two injectables, during the quarter.
Sales of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API), the key raw materials that go into the production of drugs, rose 20.4 percent to Rs 921.7 crore.
The antiretroviral (ARV) business jumped 17.8 percent to Rs 281.3 crore during the quarter.
ARVs used in the treatment of HIV-AIDS contributes about 5.3 percent of Aurobindo’s gross sales.
“We have delivered a robust revenue growth of 22 percent, driven by strong growth across all business segments and markets. Gross profit could have been better, but for certain one-time expenses," said N Govindarajan, managing director of the company.
The company reported an exceptional item of Rs 25 crore related to an acquisition.
"Our execution strength, pipeline evolution and recent acquisitions will drive the future growth,” Govindarajan added.
During the third quarter, the company filed 10 abbreviated new drug applications (ANDAs) with the USFDA including four ANDAs for injectable products. The company received final approval for 14 ANDAs and tentative approval for one ANDA.
On a cumulative basis, the company received 397 ANDA approvals from the USFDA.
The results were announced after market hours.
Shares of Aurobindo rose 2.38 percent to close at Rs 778.75 on BSE, while the benchmark remained flat at 36,971.09 points.
