Cipla Ltd Share Quarterly Results

Let us first talk about top line sales revenues. For the Dec-21 quarter, Cipla reported 6% YoY growth in sales at Rs.5,479 crore. In terms of key themes for the December 2021 quarter, Cipla Ltd sustained its traction across branded and generic markets. The predominant India revenues grew by 13% YoY on core therapies and flagship brands. India accounts for 46% of the overall revenue mix of Cipla.

Let us now turn to the US business. Here, the growth in the top line was 7% YoY in dollar terms in the third quarter. This was on the back of robust momentum in core business, especially the respiratory portfolio. The US is the second biggest single market for Cipla and accounts for 21% of sales. On a sequential basis, the revenues were down by -0.74% but that is not really too significant.

As of 31-Dec, Cipla has a total of 167 approved ANDAs, 18 tentatively approved ANDAs and 72 ANDAs that are under approval. ANDAs are the abbreviated new drug applications (ANDA), which his filed in the US for generic drug applications. The equivalent application in the European Union is called the Drug Master File or DMF for approval seeking from the regulators for generic drugs.

For the Dec-21 quarter, operating profits were flat YoY at Rs.984 crore. Overall EBITDA margins for the quarter stood at 22.7% for the December 2021 quarter. Essentially, the pressure on operating profit growth came across global market with the API business alone accounting for a 27% fall in EBITDA. That is principally because of the sharp rise in competition and thinning of margins in the API business.

Net Profit for the Dec-21 quarter were down -2.61% YoY at Rs.729 crore on the back of pressure on operating profits. That pressure got transmitted to the bottom line also. To an extent, the higher material costs and other expenses were offset by inventory efficiency gains in the quarter. However, that positive impact was marginal.

Operating margins contracted from 19.01% in Dec-20 quarter to 17.95% in Dec-21 quarter. However, the operating margins were higher on a sequential basis compared to Q2. In terms of the bottom line, the PAT margins contracted from 14.47% in the Dec-20 quarter to 13.30% in the Dec-21 quarter. The net profit margins were higher by 41 basis point on a sequential basis. Overall it was a neutral quarter for Cipla.