Sun Pharma's net profit zooms nearly four-fold to Rs 1,242 cr in December quarter; shares up 2%

New Delhi: India’s largest drugmaker by market value Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd posted a nearly four-fold jump in quarterly profit on Tuesday, breezing past estimates on strong sales in the U.S. market.

Net profit came in at Rs 1,242 crore ($175.45 million) versus Rs 322 crore profit last year, the company said, which was above an average estimate for a profit of Rs 986 crore from 16 analysts, Refinitiv Eikon data shows.

Last year in the same quarter the company had a one-time tax expense of Rs 513 crore, related to changes to tax rates in the United States.

Sales in the United States, which accounted for more than 34 percent of the total sales, rose 10 percent to $362 million. Its sales at home grew 7 percent to Rs 2,235 crore, the company said.

Total revenue from operations grew 16.3 percent to Rs 7,740 crore.

The drugmaker’s shares closed up 1.9 percent ahead of the results, in a broader market that ended 0.53 percent lower.

Sun shares have slumped 35 percent over the past five months, hurt by a surprise second-quarter loss on a hefty U.S. anitrust litigation settlement, concerns over corporate governance and the recall of its injectable muscle relaxant Vecuronium bromide due to the presence of glass.

Among other domestic players in the sector, smaller rival Lupin Ltd recently posted a surprise loss due to a one-time charge linked to litigation over a blood pressure drug.

Cipla posted a fall in December-quarter profit, weighed by higher tax expenses and weak domestic sales.