Ranbaxy stock falls despite posting five-fold jump in 2010 net profit

Leading Indian drugmaker Ranbaxy Laboratories (RANB: BO), which is 64% owned by Japan’s Daiichi Sankyo, posted strong 2010 financials yesterday, but warned that 2011 sales would be slightly lower, which resulted in the firm’s share price falling 4.2% to 488.25 rupees yesterday.

Net profit was $327 million), a margin of 18% to sales, compared to $61 million the previous year. Pre-tax profit was $459 million, a margin of 25% to sale, versus $209 million in 2009. Global sales rose 23% to $1.87 billion. The Indian firm has been badly affected by manufacturing compliance problem with the US Food and Drug Administration, and only returned into the black, with profit after tax of $67 million, a leap of 168%, in the third quarter of last year (The Pharma Letter November 12, 2010).

Commenting on the positive results for the year, Arun Sawhney, managing director of Ranbaxy, said: “We have had a strong year attributable in large measure to the robust revenue growth in our key geographies and the realizations from our first-to-file (FTF) opportunities, in the USA. On the cost side, we have gained from greater efficiencies in manufacturing.”