Indian drug firm Ranbaxy triples profits

Net profit for the generic and branded drugs maker climbed to 3.08 billion rupees ($70 million) from 1.16 billion rupees a year ago, far higher than analysts' forecasts of about two billion rupees.

Consolidated sales in July-September rose 10 per cent to 18.9 billion rupees, said Ranbaxy, a unit of Japan's Daiichi Sankyo and a world leader in generic drugs.

Shares soared 3.45 per cent to a six-year high 624.9 rupees on the news before profit-takers moved in, and the firm was trading down 3.20 per cent at 584.70 rupees in early afternoon.

"Our key markets continued to perform well, attributable in large measure to balanced sales across geographies. This has also been aided by the favorable forex movement," Ranbaxy's managing director Arun Sawhney said.

The company reported foreign exchange gains of one billion rupees in the quarter due partly to a favourable exchange rate difference on its foreign currency loans.

The rupee rose five per cent against the dollar in the July-September quarter. The company's financial year runs from January to December.

Ranbaxy reported weak earnings last year, buffeted by major regulatory problems in its largest market, the United States.

The US Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) in 2008 banned imports of more than 30 generic drugs produced by Ranbaxy, including antibiotics and AIDS drugs, because of production problems at two of the company's Indian plants.

On Thursday, Ranbaxy said it was seeking "a speedy resolution to the challenges faced and would continue to work closely with US regulators to resolve issues."

In June 2008, Daiichi paid $4.6-billion for a 64-per cent stake in India's biggest generic drugmaker by sales to gain entry into the fast-expanding global copycat market.