India’s Torrent Pharma misses third-quarter profit forecast as insulin plant closes

(Reuters) – India’s Torrent Pharmaceuticals reported lower-than-expected third-quarter profit on Friday as it plans to close its insulin production facility.

The company, best known for its calcium supplement Shelcal 500, saw consolidated net profit rise nearly 14% to 5.03 billion rupees ($58.3 million) in the quarter ended December 31, 2019, below analysts’ expectations of 5.13 billion rupees. London Stock Exchange Group.

Revenue rose nearly 3% to 28.09 billion rupees, but was below analysts’ expectations of 29.92 billion rupees.

Indian drugmakers are seeing strong growth in domestic formulations, especially in therapeutic areas such as cardiac, gastrointestinal and anti-diabetic.

However, Torrent Pharma said it was hurt by the closure of insulin production facilities in August and a 17% year-on-year depreciation of the Brazilian currency.

Rival Granules India’s third-quarter profit fell due to pricing pressure in key European markets, while Mankind Pharma reported lower-than-expected profits as expenses rose sharply.

Valuation (Next 12 Estimates (Next 12 Analyst Sentiment)

RIC PE EV/EBI Price/Revenue Profit Average

TDA Sales Growth (%) Growth (%) Rating* Analyst Price Yield

Hongliu Pharmaceutical 44.12 25.46 6.81 12.53 29.17 Buy 26 0.91 0.86

Wanjia Pharmaceutical 44.64 26.53 6.99 21.59 13.49 Buy 15 0.94 –

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals 24.96 14.68 – 11.41 63.98 Buy 10 0.87 0.17

Sun Pharmaceutical 34.08 25.52 6.30 10.34 15.90 Buy 32 0.90 0.74

*Average average of analyst ratings normalized to Strong Buy, Buy, Hold, Sell and Strong Sell** The ratio of a stock’s last closing price to analysts’ average price target; a ratio above 1 means the stock is trading at a premium At PT

Stock performance from October to December

— 1 USD = 86.2210 Indian Rupees

(Reporting by Ashna Teresa Brito; Editing by Rashmi Aich)