July 22: Pharmaceutical major Dr Reddy’s Laboratories (DRL) on Thursday reported a 14 per cent net profit in the first quarter of fiscal 2011 compared to the year ago period on the back of slow sales in the US. In the year-ago period, DRL had benefited from the exclusive US sales of sumatriptan, a generic version of GlaxoSmithKline’s antimigraine drug Imitrex. Excluding sumatriptan sales, the company said total sales rose four per cent in Q1 FY11.
The company posted a net profit of Rs 210 crore for Q1 FY11 as against Rs 244 crore in Q1FY10. Revenues for the period was at Rs 1,683 crore, down by seven per cent from Rs 1,818 crore in the same period a year ago.
Though the company fared well in the Indian and Russian markets, it suffered slow sales in North America and Europe. The company has seen 35 per cent dip in its revenue from North America — its biggest market, which contributed almost 30 per cent of its overall sales in the first quarter.
"India and Russia remain amongst our focus markets. We aspire to be amongst the top ten pharma companies in terms of sales in India, very soon. Still, North America would remain the biggest growth driver,” GV Prasad, vice-chairman and chief executive, said. He, however, said that the company is planning to launch 11 new products in the US and 30 in India by the end of this year.