Sun Pharma suffers quarterly net loss of Rs 1,276 crore

Sun Pharma suffers quarterly net loss of Rs 1,276 croreA hefty exceptional charge from the Protonix litigation forced Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd to post a net loss of Rs 1,276.1 crore for the April to June quarter of current financial year.

In the April-June quarter of 2012, the pharmaceutical giant had reported a net profit of Rs 795.5 crore

Sun Pharma, India's leading pharmaceutical firm by market capitalization, also announced that its net sales during the quarter under review jumped 31 per cent year-on-year to settle at Rs 3,482.2 crore, though earnings before interest tax & depreciation (Ebitda) margin dropped 200 basis points from the year-ago period to 44 per cent.

Dilip Shanghvi, managing director of Sun Pharma, however said the quarter results were in line with the company's expectations.

Speaking on the topic, Mr. Shanghvi said, "All our businesses continue to perform in line with our expectations and we remain focused on strengthening our existing businesses and developing a differentiated and specialty-driven product basket."

He also confirmed that 40 of the company's products would appear in the government's new Drug Price Control List.

Post the hefty payment for the Protonix patent infringement litigation, Sun Pharma's cash reserves stood at round Rs 6,000 crore. As of August 8, the company's market capitalization was recorded at Rs 1.05 lakh crore.