India's Dr Reddy's Labs posts 11-fold jump in Q4 profit

Bengaluru: Indian drugmaker Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd reported nearly an eleven-fold surge in fourth-quarter profit on Wednesday, driven by higher sales from its mainstay generic drugs business in North America.

The Hyderabad-based company's consolidated profit rose to 9.59 billion rupees in the three months ended March 31, compared with 875 million rupees a year earlier.

The profit, however, missed analysts' expectations of 9.74 billion rupees, according to Refinitiv IBES data.

Revenue from its generic business in North America, the company's biggest market accounting for almost half of its total sales, jumped 27 per cent to 25.32 billion rupees, on the back of new launches and scaling up of existing products. In India, its revenue from generic drugs business climbed 32 per cent.

Dr Reddy's consolidated revenue jumped 15.8 per cent to 62.97 billion rupees, while total operating expenses fell 13.3 per cent. The company also recommended a final dividend of 40 rupees per share for the financial year 2023.

Shares of the company settled 1.3 per cent down at 4,867 rupees on Wednesday ahead of the earnings. They have advanced 14.9 per cent so far this year, outperforming the Nifty pharma index which was up 0.95 per cent.

Its peers Lupin Ltd swung to a profit in fourth quarter from a loss last year, while Alembic Pharmaceuticals Ltd posted a near-seven-fold increase in quarterly profit. Cipla Ltd is scheduled to report its results later this week.