Consolidated net profit of drugmaker Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories declined more than 15% to ₹1,189.6 crore for the December quarter from ₹1,404.2 crore a year earlier on the back of multiple factors, including decline in sales of a key generic cancer drug in the U.S.
Besides lower sales of Lenalidomide (generic of Revlimid), other factors dragging the profit were price erosion in North America and Europe and a reduction in revenue from the Pharmaceutical Services and Active Ingredients (PSAI) business. A one-time provision of nearly ₹120 crore made in the backdrop of new Labour Codes in India, to factor in impact of changes in employee benefit obligations, also impacted the profit.
The lower profit came on a revenue from operations of ₹8,753.4 crore, which was an increase of more than 4% from ₹83,81.2 crore a year earlier, results prepared according to Indian Accounting Standards (Ind AS) showed.
A leadership team of Dr. Reddy’s led by CEO Erez Israeli that spoke on media on the results said the company is gearing up for launch of generic Semaglutide in India once the drug goes off patent in March. The drug is primarily indicated for diabetes management but come to be popular for weight loss.
The company along with partners has a capacity of 12 million pens of the drug and set to price the drug competitively, they said.
In a release, co-chairman and MD G.V. Prasad said, “Our growth in Q3FY26 was supported by continued momentum in our branded businesses, aided by favourable forex, thus offsetting the impact of lower Lenalidomide sales. We continue to focus on disciplined execution of our strategic priorities of base business growth, pipeline advancement, operational efficiencies, and select inorganic opportunities.”
