Cipla's Q4 profit jumps 79%, but fails to cheer Street

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₹939.04 crore for the March quarter, up 78.64% year-on-year due to higher demand in key markets. The company's consolidated revenue during the quarter rose 7.4% YoY to ₹6,163.24 crore, according to a filing with the exchanges. While the net profit beat profit estimates given by Bloomberg’s poll of analysts, the revenue was below expectation.

Analysts had expected the company to post a revenue and profit after tax of ₹6,234.30 crore and ₹867.93 crore, respectively. Following the earnings, shares of Cipla fell 1.4% on the National Stock Exchange to close at ₹1,340.00 apiece on Friday as the revenue disappointed market investors. The shares hit a low of ₹1,317.25 intraday.

The benchmark index Nifty, meanwhile, closed 0.4% higher today. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or Ebitda, during the quarter under review grew 13% to ₹1,316 crore with an operating margin of 21.4%. "This was backed by One-India revenue breaching ₹10,000 crore, North America revenue surpassing $900 million and South Africa reaching top spot in the prescription market, with all three businesses growing in double digits over last year," said Umang Vohra, MD and Global CEO, Cipla Ltd in a conference call.

“I believe going ahead, our revenue estimates will be higher globally along with higher market growth. I think overall, we are looking at somewhere around 25% of Ebitda going ahead," he added. The company expects to launch new products, including an obesity drug which has a huge market.

“We have identified obesity as a big area. We are hoping for the drug launch in India, but it will be timed with the patent expiries," he added. "As we enter into FY25, our focus will be on our priorities of market-leading growth in our key