Lupin Ltd, India's third-largest drugmaker, posted a 55 per cent rise in quarterly profit, but shares fell as some analysts noted the jump was driven in part by a lower tax rate.
Net profit came in at 8.82 billion rupees ($131.76 million) for the April-June quarter, compared with 5.69 billion rupees a year earlier, as per the new Indian Accounting Standard under which Lupin reported.
Shares of Lupin fell as much as 5.6 per cent to a one-month low of 1,598 rupees, in late afternoon trading in Mumbai.
Commenting on the results, Nilesh Gupta, Managing Director, Lupin Limited, said: "In keeping with the growth momentum, we continue to execute flawlessly and have delivered our best results to date. This was a record quarter, driven by robust growth across all our key markets – the United States, India and Japan. We remain committed to maintaining our growth trajectory given new product launches and approvals driven by strategic investments in technology and research."
An HDFC Securities analyst noted that Lupin's net profit was in line with the bank's estimate, but that margins were off 2.5 per cent, due to higher employee costs.
Sales in North America, Lupin's largest market, surged 82.3 per cent, helped by sales of products bought via the acquisition of Gavis in July, and higher sales of its generic version of diabetes drug Glumetza.
Sales in Japan rose 31 percent, while those in India, Lupin's second-largest market, grew 5.2 per cent, the company said in a statement.
