Daiichi Sankyo Q3 profit up, outlook lifted

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Japan's No 3 drugmaker, Daiichi Sankyo, said on Friday quarterly recurring profit rose 14.4% and upgraded its outlook, citing a recovery by its Indian unit Ranbaxy Laboratories.

Daiichi Sankyo raised its recurring profit forecast for the full year to 100 billion yen from 69 billion yen. The average SmartEstimate from Thomson Reuters StarMine, which weights analyst forecasts according to their record for accuracy, was for a profit of 89 billion yen.

Recurring profit climbed to 38.4 billion yen in October-December from 33.5 billion yen in the same period a year ago.

Daiichi, whose earnings plunged last business year on a loss linked to its newly-acquired stake in Ranbaxy, may also benefit from Effient, a blood thinner which Daiichi and Eli Lilly jointly launched in the United States and in the UK earlier this business year.

The potential blockbuster gives Daiichi advantage over its Japanese rivals, such as Takeda Pharmaceutical, which have had development setbacks for key experimental drugs in the world's largest drug market.

Daiichi was the first major Japanese drugmaker to report third-quarter results, while its bigger US and European rivals this week reported mixed quarterly earnings.

Ranbaxy, the Indian generic drug maker, whose results Daiichi consolidates with a quarter timelag, posted a profit in July-September for the second straight quarter.

Following the announcement, Daiichi Sankyo shares changed hands at 1,918 yen, down 1.3% from Thursday. In the past three months, Daiichi Sankyo shares rose 10%, while the benchmark Nikkei 225 average was flat.