Lupin Shares Fall Despite 40% Jump In Q3 Profit

The share price of Lupin Ltd. fell over 3% on Wednesday despite a 39.5% jump in its net profit for the quarter ended December. The decline comes as Nifty fell below 23,000 support level. In addition, the stock was trading at a high volume.

The pharmaceutical company recorded a consolidated net profit of Rs 855 crore for the quarter ended December, compared to Rs 613 crore in the same quarter of the previous fiscal year. This was above Bloomberg's estimates of Rs 792.6 crore.

Revenue increased by 11% year-on-year for the three months ended December, reaching Rs 5,768 crore. Operating income, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation, rose 33.6% year-on-year to Rs 1,366 crore. The Ebitda margin expanded to 23.7% from 19.7% reported in the same period last year.

The rise in revenue was led by building scale in new products and was aided by higher PLI and export benefits. India sales grew 11.9% year-on-year, led by strong growth in diabetes portfolio and accounted for 34% of global sales.

North America sales also grew 12.3% year-on-year, accounting for 38% of global sales. The sequential growth in US sales was led by higher market share in Albuterol, as well as, sales ramp-up of both 25 mg and 50 mg versions of generic Myrbetriq.

After the company announced its third quarter results, Macquarie maintained an 'outperform' rating on Lupin, with a target price of Rs 2,515. The company delivered an all-around beat, according to the brokerage.

Lupin continues to show broad-based top-line growth and margin improvement, the brokerage said. Adjusted Ebitda beat was mainly driven by higher-than-expected revenues and lower operating expenses, which were better than anticipated, Macquarie said.

Lupin share price fell as much as 3.30% to Rs 1,999.45 apiece, the lowest level since Jan. 28. It pared losses to trade 2.78% lower at Rs 2,010 apiece, as of 9:39 a.m. This compares to a 0.60% decline in the NSE Nifty 50 Index.

It has risen 26.40% in the last 12 months. Total traded volume so far in the day stood at 9.3 times its 30-day average. The relative strength index was at 39.

Out of 37 analysts tracking the company, 20 maintain a 'buy' rating, 10 recommend a 'hold,' and seven suggest 'sell,' according to Bloomberg data. The average 12-month consensus price target implies an upside of 10.6%.