Sun Pharma net rises 7% on India, EM sales

Q4 net profit stands at ₹1,309 crore

(FILES) In this file picture taken on April 7, 2014, Indian employees of the country's third-biggest drugs company Sun Pharma walk outside its research and development centre in Mumbai. On the surface, Sun Pharma's 3.2-billion USD purchase of Indian generics rival Ranbaxy, which is in deep trouble with US regulators over safety lapses, may not look like a great deal. But Sun Pharmaceutical Industries' shares rocketed on last week's announcement it was buying Ranbaxy from Japanese drugmaker Daiichi Sankyo, which struggled unsuccessfully to resolve the Indian company's regulatory woes after its 2008 4.6-billion USD acquisition. AFP PHOTO / FILES / INDRANIL MUKHERJEE

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. posted a 7% rise in quarterly net profit on Friday, aided by higher sales in its domestic and emerging markets.

Net profit was ₹1,309 crore in its fiscal fourth quarter ended March 31, compared with ₹1,224 crore a year earlier and an average estimate of ₹947 crore in a Thomson Reuters poll of 15 analysts.

Branded formulation sales in India, which accounts for 29% of the company’s total sales, increased 2%, the company said.

Sales in emerging markets rose 10% to $199 million, while those in the U.S., the company’s biggest market, fell 3%, hurt by pricing pressure in the generics business.

The U.S. market accounts for nearly 35% of the company’s total sales. Sun Pharma has been struggling to get clearance for its key factories which have been under U.S. supply bans because of quality control failures.