Sun Pharma’s Profit Beats Estimates on Specialty Drug Push
India’s largest pharmaceutical firm posted a 13% rise in net income to Rs 2,050 crore for the quarter ended Sept. 30.
(Bloomberg) -- Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., owned and run by billionaire Dilip Shangvhi, beat profit estimates for the second-consecutive quarter as the drugmaker’s push into specialty treatments continued to pay off.
India’s largest pharmaceutical firm posted a 13% rise in net income to 20.5 billion rupees ($274 million) for the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared to an average estimate of 16.44 billion rupees based on a Bloomberg survey of analysts. Revenue climbed 13% to 96.3 billion rupees, according to an exchange filing Tuesday. Total costs rose 10% to 75.6 billion rupees.
The better-than-expected financial results show Shanghvi is continuing to reap the rewards of his gamble on specialty drugs, from skin to cancer medicines, which grew 43% globally in the quarter compared to the same period last year.
“We remain steadfast in our focus on growing our overall business and simultaneously strengthening our global specialty portfolio,” Shanghvi said in a statement. “The recent launch of Winlevi in U.S. and Ilumya in Canada is a step forward in this direction,” he added, referring to Sun’s acne and plaque psoriasis treatments.
The Mumbai-based drugmaker saw its take from branded formulations in India up 26%, accounting for a third of Sun’s revenue. The U.S. market contributed close to another third of the company’s sales and grew 8%.
Covid Treatments
Sun has also branched into Covid-19 treatments and is collaborating with Indian peers for local clinical trials of Merck & Co.’s promising molnupiravir pill indicated for mild Covid infections. It also signed a licensing agreement with Eli Lilly & Co. to manufacture and distribute baricitinib in India that’s used in treating hospitalized Covid patients.
Sun’s share price climbed 0.4% on Tuesday and has advanced 38% this year, outpacing the 26% rise of India’s benchmark S&P BSE Sensex Index.
“The stock has performed well in the recent past gaining sharply after first quarter results and in the last few weeks with more data emerging on market share ramp up in key specialty assets in the U.S.,” AllianceBernstein analysts led by Nithya Balasubramanian wrote in an Oct. 20 report. “We remain bullish on Sun’s ability to continue to scale up in specialty.”
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