Hyderabad-based Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd, India's second-largest drugmaker by sales, registered a decline of 15.6 per cent in its consolidated net profit for the quarter ended March 31, 2014 at Rs 481.6 crore, on account of higher research and development (R&D) and selling, general and administrative expenses (SG&A).
In the same quarter in the previous fiscal, the drug major had posted a net profit of Rs 570.89 crore, according to a disclosure it filed with the stock exchanges.
For the entire fiscal 2013-14, the net profit of the company, however, grew 28 per cent to Rs 2,151.2 crore against Rs 1,677.6 crore recorded in the previous fiscal.
“The growth was largely driven by key launches in limited competition space,” Dr. Reddy’s said in a statement.
In the March quarter, net sales of the company rose to Rs 3,480.9 crore compared with Rs 3,339.9 crore in the previous fiscal.
While R&D expenses rose 71 per cent to Rs 398.5 crore, SG&A expenses increased by 18 per cent to Rs 1,030.7 crore in 2013-14.
Generic sales segment posted revenue of Rs 1,052 crore in the full fiscal, an increase of 27 per cent over the last fiscal, on the back of strong growth from North America and emerging markets. Generic sales from North America, the key market of Dr. Reddy’s, was up 46 per cent to Rs 553 crore, while sales from emerging markets grew 21 per cent to Rs 272 crore from last fiscal.
Dr. Reddy’s is the sole generic firm in anti-depression drug divalproex and decitabine used for the treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), which often leads to anaemia.
The company said it has filed 62 abbreviated new drug applications in the US, of which nine are first-to-file ones where the company expects 180-day exclusive selling rights.
Meanwhile, the drugmaker appointed the company's vice chairman and chief operating officer (COO) K Satish Reddy as chairman of board in place of GV Prasad, who was appointed as chairman of board in addition to his existing role as CEO, following the death of founder and chairman Kallam Anji Reddy.
The decision was taken to separate the roles the chairman and the managing director and CEO.
On Tuesday, shares of Dr. Reddy’s closed at Rs 2610.70 per share, down 3.99 per cent from its previous close on the Bombay Stock Exchange, while the Mumbai market was up 1.36 per cent or 320.23 points.
(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)