Lupin Q4 Net Profit Jumps to Rs 553 Crore, Beats Estimates

Drugmaker Lupin on Wednesday said its consolidated net profit grew 36 per cent year-on-year to Rs 553 crore in the quarter ending March 2014 from Rs 408 crore a year earlier.

Total revenue in the quarter grew 21 per cent to Rs 3,120 crore from Rs 2,586 crore mainly due to growth in its US formulation business. Lupin's US formulation business, which is the biggest contributor to its revenue, jumped 30 per cent in FY14.

Analysts polled by NDTV had estimated Lupin to report a net profit at Rs 498 crore on revenue of Rs 3,073 crore.

"We have had another remarkable year fuelled by strong growth in key markets like the US, Europe, South Africa and in our API business," Lupin Ltd Managing Director, Nilesh Gupta said. Importantly, the company was able to improve operational efficiencies substantially, he added.

Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) grew 33 per cent y-o-y to Rs 882 crore in the March quarter from Rs 665 crore a year back.

Net profit surpassed estimates due to one off gain from new launches, said Praful Bohra, pharmaceuticals analyst of Nirmal Bang equities. "Strong operating margin surprised ...ebitda numbers were better than our expectation" he added.

The company's US and Europe formulation sales (including IP) grew by 28 per cent to Rs 1,549.4 crore during the fourth quarter, as against Rs 1,212.3 crore in the same period of previous fiscal, contributing 51 per cent to overall sales.

For the year ended March 31, 2014, the company's US and Europe formulation sales grew by 29 per cent to Rs 5,180.5 crore as against Rs 4,005.1 crore in 2012-13, contributing 47 per cent to overall sales.

The company said its domestic business grew by 2 per cent in Q4, 2013-14, recording net revenues of Rs 576.3 crore, as compared to Rs 565.9 crore in the year-ago period.

For 2013-14, the domestic formulations business grew by 5 per cent recording revenues of Rs 2,479.5 crore, as compared to Rs 2,364.4 crore in 2012-13.

The company's South African subsidiary, Pharma Dynamics clocked in revenues of Rs 380 crore in 2013-14 as compared to Rs 321 crore in 2012-13, a growth of 18 per cent.

Lupin's Japanese business clocked net sales of Rs 1,295.5 crore during 2013-14 and contributed 11 per cent to the company's consolidated revenues.

The company said its API sales grew by 17 per cent to Rs 1,114 crore during 2013-14 contributing 10 per cent to the Lupin's consolidated revenues.

The company's board, which met today, proposed a final dividend of Rs 3 per share, making it a total dividend of Rs 6 for FY 2013-14.

Shares in Lupin closed 1.53 per cent lower at Rs 987 compared to 0.93 per cent loss in Nifty on Wednesday.

(With agency inputs)