SUN PHARMA POSTS LOSS ON WEAK SALES

A one-off ~950-crore payment to settle anti-trust litigation, coupled with weak performance in core India and the US markets, resulted in Sun Pharmaceutical Industries posting a ~424-crore loss in Q1 FY 2018, against a profit of ~2,037 crore in the year-ago period. This was the firm’s first loss in at least 12 years. Revenue dipped 23 per cent to ~6,167 crore.

A one-off ~950-crore payment to settle antitrust litigation, coupled with weak performance in core India and US markets, resulted in Sun Pharmaceutical Industries posting ~424 crore as loss in the first quarter FY 2018.

In the corresponding period last year, the company had posted a profit of ~2,037 crore. This was the drugmaker's first loss in at least 12 years.

Revenue dipped 23 per cent to ~6,167 crore owing to continued pricing pressure in the US, regulatory challenges and GST-led de-stocking in the domestic market.

Profitability was hit as Sun Pharma agreed to pay $147 million (about ~950 crore) to Apotex Corporation and Retailer Purchasers to settle a lawsuit which accused subsidiary Ranbaxy of accepting payments from drugmaker Cephalon to delay the launch of generic version of the latter's sleep disorder drug Provigil (Modafinil).

The litigation pertained to a patent dispute settlement which Cephalon entered with Ranbaxy and three companies, delaying the launch of the generic version till 2012. While Sun Pharma has settled litigation with two parties, it is yet to settle the dispute with the third plaintiff.