By Rishika Sadam and Kashish Tandon
(Reuters) -Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, India’s top drugmaker by revenue, reported quarterly profit above analysts’ estimates on Wednesday, helped by strong demand for its drugs in the domestic market.
The company has been focusing on strengthening its portfolio in dermatology, oncology and obesity therapy as it focuses on a mid-to-high single-digit percentage revenue growth in the current fiscal year.
Indian generic drugmakers including Sun are racing to grab a share of the burgeoning weight-loss drugs market as semaglutide, the active ingredient of Novo Nordisk’s blockbuster drug Wegovy, goes off patent in the country in 2026.
“We will be ready for launch in India in the first wave, when (the) patent expires,” Managing Director Kirti Ganorkar said in an earnings call.
The Mumbai-based firm’s consolidated net profit stood at 31.18 billion rupees ($354.7 million) for the quarter ended September 30, from 30.4 billion rupees last year.
That was above analysts’ average estimate of 29.97 billion rupees, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Sun Pharma’s total revenue rose 8.6% to 144.05 billion rupees, surpassing analysts’ expectation of 141.94 billion rupees, helped by an 11% growth in sales in India, its largest revenue-generating region.
Sales in the United States, its second-biggest revenue generating region, declined 4.1% to $496 million.
India’s generic drugmakers derive a significant share of revenue from the U.S., where lower drug prices due to stiff competition have been weighing on profit margins.
“U.S. growth, where there is (the) most uncertainty, Sun seems sorted (in) with launches of alopecia and psoriasis drugs,” Vishal Manchanda from Systematix Institutional Equities said.
Among Indian drugmakers, Sun is one of the most exposed to the U.S. market, and therefore to shifting tariff policies under President Donald Trump.
To mitigate the situation, the company said it was open to expanding its manufacturing presence in the U.S. in the future.
(Reporting by Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru and Rishika Sadam in Hyderabad; Editing by Savio D’Souza, Nivedita Bhattacharjee and Pooja Desai)
