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Drug major Sun Pharma today posted around 7 per cent increase in consolidated net profit at ₹ 1,308.96 crore for the quarter ending March on the back of revenue growth in India and emerging markets even as the US sales took a hit.
The company had reported a net profit of ₹ 1,223.71 crore in the same period of the previous fiscal.
Total revenue from operations declined to ₹ 6,977.10 crore for the fourth quarter against Rs 7,136.96 crore during the same period of 2016-17.
For the year ended March 31, the drug major posted a net profit of ₹ 2,161.55 crore, down 69 per cent from ₹ 6,964.37 crore in 2016-17, Sun Pharma said in a regulatory filing.
Total revenue from operations for 2017-18 stood at ₹ 26,489.46 crore. It stood at ₹ 31,578.44 crore in 2016-17.
The company’s sales in the US stood at $368 million for the fourth quarter quarter, a de-growth of 3 per cent over same period last year. For 2017-18, sales stood at $1,357 million , a decline of 34 per cent over 2016-17.
The company and one of its wholly-owned subsidiaries entered into a settlement regarding a product with certain plaintiffs -- Apotex Corporation and Retailer Purchasers and agreed to pay $147 million (around ₹ 950 crore), Sun Pharma said.
Commenting on the results, Sun Pharma Managing Director Dilip Shanghvi said: “Over the last four quarters, we have been able to record a gradual improvement in performance despite a challenging US generic pricing environment.”
Fiscal 2018-19 will mark the crossing of some important milestones in the company’s specialty journey with the likely launch of three specialty products in the US — Ilumya, OTX-101 and Yonsa — which will entail upfront investments, he added.
“We are also planning to conduct additional clinical trials for a new indication of Ilumya. We will continue to evaluate opportunities in the specialty segment to further enhance this business,” Shanghvi said.
During the fourth quarter, the company said its sale of branded formulations in India stood at ₹1,963 crore, up 2 per cent from same period of previous fiscal. For 2017-18, sales stood at ₹ 8,029 crore, up 4 per cent over 2016-17.
In emerging markets, revenue rose by 10 per cent year-on-year to $199 million in the fourth quarter of 2017-18. The markets contributed $751 million in the full fiscal, a growth of 11 per cent over 2016-17.
The company’s board approved a dividend of ₹ 2 each per share of Re 1 each for the year ended March 31, 2018. The dividend is expected to be paid on or about last week of September, 2018, it added.
The board also approved the composite scheme of arrangement among Sun Pharma and Sun Pharma (Netherlands) BV and Sun Pharmaceutical Holdings USA Inc and their respective members.
Shares of Sun Pharma ended 0.97 per cent up at ₹ 466.55 on the BSE today.
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