Sun Pharma Q3 Results: US formulation sales up 13%, margin beats estimates

India's largest drug manufacturer Sun Pharma Ltd. reported US formulation sales of $477 million for the October-December quarter, it said in an exchange filing. The number is 13.2% higher compared to the same quarter last year.

The US formulation business comprises of 33% of Sun Pharma's overall sales.

Sun Pharma's US formulation sales are also inclusive of Taro Pharma, which had reported results earlier this week with net sales rising by 13% to $157 million.

Sun Pharma has recently signed a definitive agreement with Taro to acquire the remaining stake it does not own in its subsidiary, taking its total stake to 100%. Sun Pharma will acquire the remaining 21% stake at $43 per share.

The drugmaker reported a net profit of ₹2,524 crore, which was higher than the CNBC-TV18 poll of ₹2,381 crore.

Revenue in rupee terms stood at ₹12,381 crore, in-line with expectations of ₹12,207.4 crore. On a year-on-year basis, revenue grew by 10.1% from last year.

Earnings before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 15.8% to ₹3,477 crore, while margin of 28.2% was 200 basis points higher than the CNBC-TV18 poll of 26.2%. When compared to last year, margin expanded by 150 basis points.

Formulation sales in the Emerging markets declined by 2.3% from last year to $252 million. The decline was due to adverse currency movements. Emerging markets accounted for 17% of the overall sales.

Rest of the World markets grew 12.9% year-on-year to $214 million and comprised of 15% of the overall sales.

"We are keenly looking forward to EMA filing of Nidlegy in the coming months," said Sun Pharma MD Dilip Shangvi. "Once approved, Nidlegy will significantly expand our onco-derm franchise in Europe," he added.

"Numbers were expected to be good for Sun Pharma this time around. Their specialty, based on the numbers that we saw, they were looking very strong, although they have some setbacks on the generics in the US. And India growth was also strong based on the AIOCD data. So overall, seems to be a good set of numbers," said Vishal Manchanda of the Systematix Group.

Shares of Sun Pharma are trading 3.7% higher at ₹1,422.5. The stock has risen 40% over the last one year.