(Reuters) -Cipla, India’s third-largest generic drugmaker by sales, reported a 15.2% rise in second-quarter profit that beat estimates, driven by higher sales of its respiratory and cancer drugs in its key India and North American markets.
The company reported a consolidated net profit of 13.03 billion rupees ($155 million) for the quarter ended Sept. 30, beating analysts’ estimate of 12.34 billion rupees, as per data compiled by LSEG.
Sales in North America grew 5% during the quarter, primarily driven by Cipla’s respiratory drug Albuterol and cancer drug Lanreotide. The latter is the second biggest revenue generator for the company after Lenalidomide, which is the generic version of Bristol-Myers Squibb’s cancer drug Revlimid.
Revenue from India, the company’s second-biggest market, also rose 5% to 29.48 billion rupees. The two regions make up three-fourths of Cipla’s total revenue.
Cipla’s domestic revenue has been under pressure due to a shift in the distribution channel for its trade generics business. The company said it expects growth in this business to recover in the near term.
Indian generic drugmakers like Cipla and Dr Reddy’s have benefited from strong demand for their copycat versions of Revlimid since its launch in 2022, boosting sales in the U.S.
Cipla’s total revenue for the quarter rose 5.6%, slightly below analysts’ expectations of a 5.8% growth.
($1 = 84.0480 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru; Editing by Abinaya Vijayaraghavan)
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