Ranbaxy 2nd-qtr sales fall 18%; reports loss

India’s largest drugmaker Ranbaxy Laboratories (BSE: 500359) reported second-quarter 2013 financial results, showing that sales had plunged 18% to 26.3 billion rupees ($429 million), compared to the like 2012 quarter when the company benefited from exclusivity on a generic version of Pfizer's blockbuster cholesterol lowerer Lipitor (atorvastatin). Ranbaxy, majority-owned by Japanese drug major Daiichi Sankyo, posted a loss of 5.2 billion rupees, largely as a result of negative currency effects, compared to a loss of 5.9 billion rupees in the same quarter of 2012.

Commenting on the business results for the quarter, Arun Sawhney, chief executive and managing director of Ranbaxy, said: “The company continued its focus on branded markets and business which will help navigate the growth of Ranbaxy in the coming years. While on the one hand, we are making commitments to growth, we are also consciously working on areas of efficiency improvement across the organization.”

He continued: “At all times, we will work under the paradigm of ‘Quality and Patients First.’ In the interest of all stakeholders we successfully concluded the previously disclosed investigation by the US Department of Justice. With the payment of $500 million, provisioned earlier, we have settled both the civil and criminal settlements with the DoJ. This should allow us to focus our resources and energies to drive future growth.”