Essentials tag unlikely to benefit pharmaceutical companies in Q1

Higher channel stocking in the US in March quarter and impact of lockdown in the domestic market point to a sharp decline or muted earnings for most companies

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Pharmaceuticals | Coronavirus

Ujjval Jauhari  |  New Delhi 

Despite being a part of the essentials list, the June quarter is unlikely to be a healthy one for pharma companies given the hit to sales on account of the lockdown. Domestic sales for April and May indicates that the pharma market declined by 11 per cent and 9 per cent, respectively, before registering some recovery in June.

The impact on outpatient departments (OPD) and deferral of elective surgeries translated to muted prescription flow and sales. Companies such as Cadila Healthcare, Cipla and Alkem, among others, which have higher share of domestic sales in their portfolio, will ...
First Published: Tue, July 14 2020. 19:09 IST