Aug 4 (Reuters) - Indian drugmaker Aurobindo Pharma ARBN.NS reported a lower first-quarter profit on Monday, as expenses grew faster than revenue - stung by weak prices in the key U.S. market.
The company's consolidated net profit fell to 8.25 billion rupees ($94.2 million) in the quarter ended June 30, from 9.19 billion rupees, a year ago.
Total expenses climbed 4.7%, overshadowing a 4.5% rise in net sales.
For further earnings highlights, click here.
KEY CONTEXT
Most of India's generic drugmakers get a significant portion of their revenue from North America, where fierce competition has led to lower prices, weighing on the companies' margins. The U.S. contributed 44.3% to Aurobindo's topline.
The drugmaker has benefitted from strong demand for its anti-retroviral drugs, which are used for the treatment of HIV patients.
Among Aurobindo's rivals, Cipla CIPL.NS beat quarterly profit estimates, while Dr Reddy's REDY.NS missed. However, both drugmakers saw weak sales in the U.S.
PEER COMPARISON
Estimates (next 12 months)
Analysts' sentiment
RIC
PE
EV/EBITDA
Revenue growth (%)
Profit growth (%)
Mean rating*
# of analysts
Stock to price target**
Div yield (%)
Aurobindo Pharma Ltd
ARBN.NS
15.96
8.94
7.53
13.19
Buy
26
0.83
0.39
Alembic Pharmaceuticals Ltd
ALEM.NS
24.49
15.10
10.91
25.77
Buy
10
0.96
1.12
Zydus Lifesciences Ltd
ZYDU.NS
21.39
13.94
6.75
-5.10
Hold
26
0.96
1.13
Cipla Ltd
CIPL.NS
23.92
15.31
6.65
-0.85
Buy
35
0.89
0.84
* Mean of analysts' ratings standardised to a scale of Strong Buy, Buy, Hold, Sell, and Strong Sell
** Ratio of the stock's last close to analysts' mean price target; a ratio above 1 means the stock is trading above the PT
APRIL TO JUNE STOCK PERFORMANCE
-- All data from LSEG
-- $1 = 87.6270 Indian rupees
Aurobindo Pharma's Q1 stock performance vs peers https://reut.rs/3GQ71lG
(Reporting by Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
((Kashish.Tandon@thomsonreuters.com; 8800437922;))