Dr Reddy's 1st-qtr FY 2009 profit drops 26%

Indian generics major Dr Reddy's says that its fiscal first-quarter 2009 net profit dropped 26% year-on-year to 1.35 billion rupees ($31.6 million), despite revenues rising 26% to 15.04 billion rupees.

Revenues from global generics business totaled 10.3 billion rupees, up 25%, driven by key markets of North America, where turnover increased to 2.8 billion rupees from 1.8 billion rupees, as well as growth in Russia and Germany.

Turnover from Europe grew to 2.9 billion rupees from 2.6 billion rupees, as income from its German Betapharm unit jumped 20% to 2.5 billion rupees. According to Religare Securities analyst Alok Dalal, the resolution of the pricing pressure and supply constraints at the subsidiary boosted investor confidence. Shares in the Dr Reddy's jumped 1.7% to 675.75 rupees on reporting its results.