Cipla Q4 disappoints, profit falls 69% to Rs 80.87 crore

MUMBAI: Cipla Ltd, India's fifth-largest drugmaker by sales, reported a fall of 69 per cent in its quarterly earnings on Tuesday, far short of analysts' forecasts.

Net profit for the January-March quarter was Rs 80.87 crore, compared with Rs 260 crore a year earlier.

A company statement did not provide a reason for the profit fall, but said domestic sales for the quarter had risen about 16 per cent in the quarter and contributed 40 per cent to overall sales in fiscal 2016.

The results of the current period includes relevant results of InvaGen and Exelan from the date they became subsidiaries of the company and "therefore the corresponding figures for the previous period are not comparable", it added.

The company posted a net profit of Rs 1,505.92 crore for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016. It was Rs 1,180.77 crore for the same period year ago.

Consolidated total income from operations stood at Rs 13,678.27 crore for the recently concluded fiscal. It was Rs 11,345.44 crore for the year ago fiscal year.

In a separate filing, Cipla said its Board has recommended payment of dividend of Rs 2 per equity share (face value Rs 2 per equity share) for the year 2015-16.

Shares of Cipla today closed at Rs 494.90 on BSE, down 0.50 per cent from its previous close.