Ranbaxy registers 168 per cent leap in end-Sept profit

Leading Indian drug manufacturing company Ranbaxy Laboratories today reported a 168 per cent jump in net profits for the quarter ended 30 September, driven by higher sales and favourable currency movements.

For the company, it is the third quarter, as its financial year runs from January to December rather than the Indian financial year of April to March followed by most companies here.

Net profit for the generic and branded drug maker climbed to Rs308 crore ($70 million) from Rs116 crore in the same period a year ago, well above analysts' forecasts of about Rs200 crore.

Consolidated sales in July-September rose 10 per cent to Rs1,890 crore, said Ranbaxy, now a unit of Japan's Daiichi Sankyo and a world leader in generic drugs.

"Our key markets continued to perform well, attributable in large measure to balanced sales across geographies. This has also been aided by the favorable forex movement," Ranbaxy's managing director Arun Sawhney said in New Delhi.

The company reported foreign exchange gains of Rs100 crore in the quarter, due partly to a favourable exchange rate difference on its foreign currency loans.