Abbott India reports 17.7% rise in Q2 profit

Abbott India, the local unit of U.S. healthcare firm Abbott Laboratories, reported a 17.7% rise in second-quarter profit on Thursday, driven by strong sales in its mainstay pharmaceuticals segment.

Profit for the company, which makes pain-reliever ibuprofen under the brand name Brufen, rose to 3.13 billion rupees ($37.6 million) in the three months to Sept. 30 from a year earlier.

Key context
Waning price erosion in the U.S. market, which accounts for a significant share of Indian generic drug-makers’ revenue, led to an 8.3% rise in Abbott’s revenue, driving up profit.

Peers Cipla and Dr Reddy’s beat analysts’ profit estimates while Gland Pharma (GLAD.NS) missed profit estimates.

Still, Abbott was hurt by production halts in Goa, where it has one of its two India plants, after customer complaints led to a voluntary recall of its antacid syrup starting August and left the company embroiled in a tussle with regulators in the state.

Peer comparison

Reuters