Nov 4 (Reuters) – Indian drugmaker Zydus Lifesciences reported a 26.6% fall in second-quarter profit on Wednesday, as rising expenses outweighed stronger demand, pushing its shares about 4% lower.
Consolidated net profit fell to 9.26 billion rupees ($97.77 million) for the July-September quarter from 12.61 billion rupees a year earlier.
Here are more details:
• Total revenue rose 29.2% year-on-year to 79.10 billion but expenses grew at a faster pace of 51%, including a 36.4% increase in R&D and 33.7% increase in employee benefits expenses
• Revenue from North America, Zydus’ largest market, rose 20.8% to 33.15 billion rupees, aided by higher volumes and new launches for generic drugs
• Revenue from India, its second-largest market, grew 18%, driven by its chronic disease portfolio
• Analysts at Motilal Oswal said growth in Zydus’ domestic business in the second quarter was helped by market share gains in chronic, acute therapies, and differentiated launches
• Larger rival Dr Reddy’s reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit, as domestic demand offset competitive pressures in the US market, while Cipla missed profit estimates on weakness in its key North American market
($1 = 94.7100 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Puyaan Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema)
