Daiichi Sankyo posts 23.5% decline

Daiichi Sankyo,which has a 64 per cent stake in Ranbaxy,attributed its weak quarterly performance to a decline in sales from its Indian unit. Profit also got hurt as a consequence of the tsunami and earthquake that hit Japan in March,the company said.

The company’s net sales fell by 9.7 per cent vis-a-vis the year-ago period to 231.66 billion yen in the first quarter ended June 30,2011.

Daiichi Sankyo has blamed the decline in net sales to “sales decrease in Ranbaxy by 15.1 billion yen,combined with return of domestic marketing rights in certain products,(which) caused net sales to fall by 24.8 billion yen”.

The company said net sales of the Ranbaxy Group tumbled 27.5 per cent year-on-year to 39.8 billion yen.

In addition,Daiichi Sankyo’s net sales in Japan plunged by 10.1 per cent year-on-year to 119.1 billion yen in the quarter under review.

However,net sales in North America rose 4 per cent year-on-year to 50.3 billion yen,while in Europe,net sales grew 9.3 per cent year-on-year to 16.2 billion yen. In other regions,net sales climbed 6.5 per cent year-on-year to 6.3 billion yen,thanks mainly to sales increases in South Korea,Venezuela and China.

Looking ahead,the company revised its net profit forecast for the full fiscal year to March upward to 50 billion yen from 45 billion yen projected earlier,citing lower tax expenses at Ranbaxy and gains from sales of underused real estate assets.

The company continues to expect a revenue of 970 billion yen for the year ended March 31,2012.