Oct 23 (Reuters) – Indian drugmaker Torrent Pharmaceuticals reported a near 10% decline in second-quarter profit on Friday, as higher spending on research and development outpaced robust demand for chronic therapies in the country.
• Consolidated net profit fell to 5.34 billion rupees for the quarter ended September 30, from 5.91 rupees a year earlier
• Torrent and peers such as Mankind Pharma continue to benefit from strong demand for chronic therapies, particularly diabetes and cardiovascular treatments, helping drive steady growth in the domestic formulations business
• Sales in India, Torrent’s biggest market, jumped 20% to 21.81 billion rupees, also boosted by strong demand for generic semaglutide — the active ingredient in Novo Nordisk’s blockbuster diabetes drug Ozempic and weight-loss drug Wegovy
• The growth in domestic business helped lift overall revenue nearly 51% to 49.79 billion rupees
• The gain, however, was limited by nearly a 71% jump in total expenses, including a 35% increase in research and development costs
• The drugmaker’s profit margins deteriorated to 10.7% from 17.9% a year earlier
(Reporting by Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
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