Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Limited (RDY)

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http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idINDEL3297520080417?rpc=44

NEW DELHI, April 17 (Reuters) - India's leading drug makers
should report rises in quarterly earnings on strong generic
drugs sales, with the exception of Dr Reddy's Laboratories
(REDY.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) whose profit is seen falling sharply due to one-time gains in last year's earnings. Cheaper generic drugs are becoming increasingly popular as
governments around the world battle to contain soaring
healthcare costs, but export-driven Indian pharmaceutical firms
are facing challenges of stiff pricing pressure in the United
States. Analysts are upbeat about the outlook for the sector as
drugs with annual U.S. sales of $50 billion are expected to go
off patent by 2010, creating more opportunities for Indian
firms to sell generic versions or cheap copies of branded
products. "We believe that the worst is over for Indian generic
companies and expect gradual improvement in their performance
over the next two years," Motilal Oswal Securities said in a
report. An increased focus on the domestic market, which is
expected to maintain the 12-14 percent growth rate of recent
years, should help drug makers in the long term, Prabhudas
Lilladher said. Ranbaxy Laboratories (RANB.BO: Quote, Profile, Research), India's top drug maker by sales, is expected to post a 15.5 percent rise in March quarter sales when it reports on Tuesday, but higher interest costs and lower other income mean its profit will rise by just 2.3 percent on year to 1.32 billion rupees, according to a Reuters poll. (See bottom of story for company valuation, share price movement and a table of forecasts) Goldman Sachs, which maintains a strong outlook for the sector in the financial year that began on April 1, estimates
average industry sales growth to be 21 percent from a year
earlier, more than its previous forecast of 16 percent. The Indian rupee weakened by 1.7 percent against the dollar in the March quarter, after rising more than 12 percent in 2007, which could have led to some foreign exchange hedging losses, analysts said. New York-listed Dr Reddy's (RDY.N: Quote, Profile, Research) is expected to report a 64 percent fall in net profit, as earnings a year earlier were boosted by one-time gains from a 180-day exclusivity period for the generic version of GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK.L: Quote, Profile, Research) anti-nausea
drug Zofran. The company also faces pressure on its business in Germany, where it acquired Betapharm for $572 million in 2006. The acquisition has been a drag on earnings because of supply
constraints and the appreciation of the rupee. Sun Pharmaceuticals (SUN.BO: Quote, Profile, Research), India's most valuable drug maker, is expected to report its net profit rose 15 percent to 2.65 billion rupees, buoyed by sales of oxcarbazepine tablets, a generic form of Novartis AG's (NOVN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research) epilepsy drug Trileptal. Sun shares exclusive U.S. marketing rights with Indian peer Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (GLEN.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) for the drug. Cipla Ltd (CIPL.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) is expected to report a 39.4 percent rise in net profit on revenue growth of 9.6 percent, helped by higher exports. Pharmaceutical stocks outperformed the main index in a falling market during the January-March quarter, with the BSE healthcare index falling 13 percent, versus a 23 percent drop in the benchmark index .BSESN.

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