Comments
Lupin managed to double its net profit in the latest March quarter, helped by a better product-mix, higher India sales and a lower tax rate.
Robust sales in India and the US helped Lupin post 35 per cent growth in revenues during the March quarter.
Superior product-mix and higher contribution from India business helped the company improve its gross profit margins (gross profit is sales minus raw material costs). This, in addition, to slower rise in employee costs lifted operating margins by 6.2 percentage points to 26 per cent.
A good show by the generic business in the US helped Lupin pep up its sales, while branded sales were flat.
A healthy demand for its flagship anti-infective brand Suprax (over 25 per cent) and inhaler device brand Aerochamber compensated for the 40 per cent slide in its anti-cholestrol brand Antara.
Generic drug sales in the US now constitute nearly 80 per cent of Lupin’s sales compared to 70 per cent a year-ago.
The mix of branded and generic drugs is likely to remain at the current levels. Improvement in the generic segment margins driven by a better product mix has mitigated the margin pressure in the branded business.
Lupin is actively exploring brand targets in therapy areas such as anti-allergy, respiratory and dermatology to strengthen its branded franchise and leverage its existing field force in the US.
The company launched 12 products in this market during the year.
It is also pursuing buyout opportunities in generics in therapies such as dermatology and respiratory, which may be the future growth drivers in the US market.
Shortage of specific competing drugs provided a big boost to the company’s India sales during the quarter. Domestic revenues grew 43 per cent to Rs 566 crore.
This may be an aberration, unlikely to be sustained in the June quarter.
Revenues from the Japanese market grew by a slow two per cent due to postponement of a specific contract at its subsidiary I’rom Pharma. This may contribute to sales in the current quarter.
Lupin also announced changes in its executive board.
Comments
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.