Following the better-than-expected Q1FY24 earnings, shares of Cipla, one of the leading pharmaceutical companies in India, spiked 9% to ₹1,169.95 apiece in early deals on Thursday. This significant rally brings the stock close to its all-time high of ₹1,185.
The company on Wednesday reported a 17.7% YoY jump in its consolidated revenue from operations at ₹6,329 crore, driven by strong growth in India and the US markets.
The revenue from Indian business surged by 11.6% to 2,772 crore in Q1, while US business reported the highest ever quarterly revenue of $222 million and 43% YoY growth driven by robust momentum in differentiated portfolio, the company said in a regulatory filing.
International markets, including emerging markets and Europe, posted sales of ₹779 crore against ₹720 crore in the same period a year ago, up 8.3%, the company said.
The operating profit came in at ₹1,494 crore, an increase of 30.7% YoY, while the EBITDA margin expanded by 233 basis points YoY. Cipla posted a profit after tax of ₹996 crore, which is a 45.1% improvement compared to a net profit of ₹706 crore recorded in the same period of last year. Seen Sequentially, the net profit improved by 90.80%.
Commenting on Q1 performance, Cipla MD and Global CEO Umang Vohra said," Our One-India business continued the double-digit trajectory, growing at 12% during the quarter, led by branded prescription with sustained growth across chronic therapies. Our continued focus on a differentiated portfolio has strengthened our US business, which once again posted the highest-ever quarterly revenue of $222 million. South Africa's Private Market bounced back from the lows of last year to post double-digit growth."
"Our core operating profitability continues to be strong at 23.6%, expanding by 230 bps over last year. We are excited to continue working towards establishing a strong foundation for growth in the upcoming quarters, where we look forward to continuing the leadership in Chronic Therapies in Branded Prescription business in India, further expanding our differentiated pipeline in the US, and targeting to be the biggest prescription business in South Africa," he added.
Following the company's Q1 performance, brokerage firm Motilal Oswal raised its earnings estimates by 6% each for FY24 and FY25 to factor in reduced competition in the US generics segment, better visibility for niche launches in North America, and better operating leverage.
There has been a healthy revival in the outlook for North America markets in addition to better-than-industry performance in the branded generics segment (DF/South Africa), said the brokerage.
39 analysts polled by MintGenie on average have a 'buy' call on the stock.
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