(Reuters) -Indian drugmaker Zydus Lifesciences reported a higher adjusted fourth-quarter profit on Tuesday, driven by new drug launches in the U.S., its biggest market.
The company reported a 22% rise in its consolidated profit before exceptional items and tax to 18.92 billion rupees ($221.3 million) for the quarter ended March 31.
However, Zydus Life recorded an exceptional item worth 2.20 billion rupees due to an impairment charge tied to its Brazil business and the closure of operations at one of the facilities of its unit Zydus Wellness.
Including the charge, its consolidated net profit fell 1% year-on-year.
Overall revenue climbed 18%, led by a 24% growth in U.S. sales and 13% jump in India sales.
KEY CONTEXT
Zydus Life, like most Indian generic drugmakers, derives a large chunk of its revenue from the U.S.
New drug launches, especially in the specialty portfolio, led to strong growth in U.S., Zydus Life said. It launched five new products during the quarter across therapy areas such as diabetes and anti-infectives.
Peer Alembic Pharma reported a higher quarterly profit, while larger rival Cipla and Dr Reddy’s beat profit estimates as they all benefited from strong domestic demand for their drugs.
PEER COMPARISON
Estimates (next 12 Analysts’ sentiment
months)
RIC PE EV/EBI Revenue Profit Mean # of Stock to Div
TDA growth (%) growth rating* analysts price yield
(%) target** (%)
Zydus 19.60 13.33 6.10 -1.22 Hold 27 0.87 0.33
Lifesciences Ltd
Alembic 24.00 15.14 10.80 25.41 Buy 9 0.91 1.20
Pharmaceuticals
Ltd
Cipla Ltd 23.43 15.27 6.95 -3.45 Buy 33 0.91 0.87
Dr Reddy’s 17.24 11.36 6.97 0.92 Hold 35 0.96 0.65
Laboratories Ltd
* The mean of analysts’ ratings standardised to a scale of Strong Buy, Buy, Hold, Sell, and Strong Sell
** The ratio of the stock’s last close to analysts’ mean price target; a ratio above 1 means the stock is trading above the PT
JANUARY TO MARCH STOCK PERFORMANCE
— All data from LSEG
— $1 = 85.4960 Indian Rupees
(Reporting by Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema)
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