Ranbaxy 1st-qtr 2013 earnings plunge 90% as sales fall 34%

India’s largest pharma company Ranbaxy Laboratories (BSE: 500359), which is majority owned by Japan’s Daiichi Sankyo, has posted first quarter 2013 financial results, showing the net income plunged 90% to 1.26 billion rupees ($23.4 million), while sales fell 34.2% to 24.40 billion rupees compared with the 2012 first quarter, when the company benefited from sales exclusivity in the USA for a generic version for a generic version of Pfizer’s all-time blockbuster Lipitor (atorvastatin).

Commenting on the business results for the quarter, Arun Sawhney, chief executive and managing director of Ranbaxy, said: "India and key emerging markets of East Europe + CIS and Africa + Middle East returned strong growth. The focus on differentiated products gained momentum during the quarter as we improved our market share in Absorica [isotretinoin] and received the rights to market desvenlafaxine in USA. We also continued to work towards optimizing overhead and other expenses."