Cipla Q3 profit rises about 7 percent to Rs 401 crore

Mumbai: Leading drugmaker, Cipla said its net profit rose 7 percent at Rs 401 crore in the third-quarter ended December due to strong sales in India, Europe, and African markets.

The company reported a net profit of Rs 375 crore in the same period last year.

The EBITDA margins grew by 21 percent on a year-on-year basis with PAT growing by 25 percent when adjusted for one-offs in the quarter, the company said in a statement here.

The company's consolidated revenue rose 7 percent to Rs 3,914 crore in the quarter as compared to Rs 3,647 crore in the corresponding period last year. The international sales increased by 5 percent at Rs 2,203 crore.

"This has been one of our better quarters.

Key performance metrics look healthy and are in line with the internal targets we set for ourselves. We are stepping up our investments in R&D which have resulted in approvals for differentiated products in the US market," Cipla managing director and global CEO Umang Vohra said.

Revenue from India, its biggest market, rose 15 percent to Rs 1,601 crore as the strong growth momentum continued with 10bps increase in market share and focus on in-licensing leading to new launches.

Revenue from North America fell 2 percent at Rs 650 crore, while Europe reported 30 percent jump in revenue at Rs 171 crore, in Q3 FY18.

Strong momentum continued across key markets including India, South Africa among others; India recorded healthy double-digit growth in South Africa delivering its highest ever quarter in terms of sales.

The US launch trajectory got a major boost with key limited competition products getting launched. The key milestones achieved for initiating gAdvair trials; two additional trials are also expected to begin soon, Vohra said.