Ranbaxy turns around, posts Rs. 478-cr profit in Q2

Ranbaxy Laboratories has posted a net profit of Rs.477.75 crore for the quarter ended September 30, recording a massive turnaround.

It had posted a loss of Rs.454.16 crore during the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

The company’s total income has also increased to Rs.3,260.49 crore during the quarter, from Rs.2,801.64 crore in the year-ago period.

“During the quarter, growth in the base business was driven by India and Western Europe. In the US, we successfully launched Valsartan with 180 days exclusivity. Our focus continues to be on creating brands and providing differentiated products as future growth drivers,” said Arun Sawhney, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director.

The launch of the generic equivalent of Novartis’ Diovan in the US, which is chemically known as Valsartan, has been a huge push for Ranbaxy.

While the nod from the US Food and Drugs Administration formaking and marketing Valsartan on an exclusive basis has helped the company post better numbers, heavy discounts by Novartis on the product to the US’ Medicaid programme has stopped Ranbaxy from taking up majority market share in the US.

Further, while the company has posted big growth in its western European business, geopolitical tensions have had an impact on its operations in Ukraine, Ranbaxy told investors on Tuesday.

The company, which is on the verge of merging with Mumbai-based Sun Pharmaceuticals, is set to remediate its plants as well.

It told investors that the Mohali plant is likely to be the first plant to become fully operational.

The company added the Toansa and Dewas plants are back on track with production of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), though they are not supplying to the US market yet.

API sales had an impact due to the low exports from these plants, Sawhney said.

At the end of the quarter, the company’s net debt stood at $739 million.

On Tuesday, Ranbaxy’s scrip closed up 6.11 per cent at Rs.634.10 on the BSE. Business Line