Ranbaxy posts Q3 net profit of Rs 754 crore

MUMBAI: Ranbaxy Laboratories, the country's largest drugmaker by sales, reported a net profit of Rs 754 crore for the quarter ended September on the back of strong sales in its North American market and forex gains.

The Indian drugmaker, owned by Japan's Daiichi Sankyo, had posted a loss of Rs 464 crore in the year-ago quarter. Net sales for the quarter grew 31% y-o-y to Rs 2,651 crore.

"Ranbaxy's business performance continued to strengthen even in a volatile regulatory and business environment, as our focus on key markets, improvement in manufacturing, R&D productivity and heightened level of cost consciousness helped our performance," Ranbaxy's CEO and managing director Arun Sawhney said.

The company's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation & amortization (EBITDA) was 16% of sales at Rs 417 crore. The company said a favorable rupee condition helped it post a healthy EBITDA.

Sales in Ranbaxy's North American market grew 60% to Rs 840 crore, primarily due to the 180-days exclusivity for its generic version of Lipitor and Actos. Indian sales stood at Rs 582 crore, a 13% growth over the year-ago period. On Thursday, shares of Ranbaxy closed down by 0.21% on the BSE at 549.