Journalism of Courage
Ranbaxy Laboratories, which is being acquired by Sun Pharmaceuticals for $3.2 billion, on Friday reported a net loss of Rs 73.65 crore in the January-March quarter due to doubling of finance costs and write-off related to regulatory sanctions.
The firm had reported a profit of Rs 125.75 crore in the corresponding period last year. Ranbaxy, which is owned by Japan’s Daiichi Sankyo, made a provision of Rs 62.95 crore in the quarter for inventory write-off and other costs related to the January ban imposed by the US Food and Drug Administration on its Toansa plant. It also made a provision of about Rs 70 crore for impairment of goodwill in subsidiaries and reduction in the value of an investment in an associate, the company said in a statement without giving details.
Net sales of the troubled company, which is battling USFDA-mandated import ban at four of its plants, rose marginally by 1 per cent to Rs 2,436.1 crore, as against Rs 2,411.1 crore in the year-ago period.
Ranbaxy, however, said its base business sale for the 15-month period ended March 31 continued to grow over the corresponding period. “On an annualised basis, base business sales growth was over 10 per cent on actual forex,” it said. “Despite multiple challenges, Ranbaxy met its sales guidance and continued to build on its strengths. At the same time, we will continue to work closely with the regulatory agencies to address their concerns,” Ranbaxy CEO Arun Sawhney said in a statement.
During the quarter, the company had applied for 37 generic drug approvals globally while it received approvals for 22 therapies.
Ranbaxy scrip closed at Rs 464.50, down 1.06 per cent, on the BSE.
