Sun Pharmaceutical Industries on May 26 reported a net profit of Rs 1,984.5 crore for the quarter ended March, topping the estimate of Rs 1,808.1 crore pegged by a poll of brokerages collated by Moneycontrol.
The company reported a net loss of Rs 2,227.38 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago, largely on the back of a one-time loss of Rs 3,935.7 crore.
Sequentially, Sun Pharma's net profit declined 8.3 percent from Rs 2,166 crore in the previous quarter. The sequential decline came on the back of a moderation in the specialty business and the impact of the US FDA's ban on the company's export-oriented Halol unit.
Revenue for the fourth quarter grew 15.7 percent year-on-year to Rs 10,930.6 crore, as against Rs 9,446.8 crore in the same period last fiscal. The topline was also slightly above the estimate of Rs 10,905.3 crore.
The yearly rise in revenue was aided by double-digit growth across markets, solid traction in the specialty segment and robust sales in the domestic formulations business. Sales from the generic of Revlimid, a drug used to treat multiple myeloma, in the US market also significantly aided revenue growth.
The operational performance also improved but not significantly, as it was weighed down by higher research and development costs for Concert Pharma post-acquisition and the adverse impact of the Halol ban.
The EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) margin for the quarter under review came at 25.6 percent, as against 24.8 percent in the year-ago period. The EBITDA margin in the previous quarter was 26.7 percent.
The company's management has also guided higher research and development investments towards the specialty and US generic business, going up to 7-8 percent of sales in FY24.
As for the outlook going ahead, the company guided topline growth in high single-digits for FY24.
Providing clarification on the company's Mohali plant, the company said that selling products from that facility is likely to begin in a gradual and timely manner in the coming months. Shipments from Sun Pharma's Mohali unit were temporarily paused recently after the facility was slapped with directives for corrective action from the US Food and Drug Administration. However, the management did not provide any specific timeline for the same.
