Cadila Healthcare Q1 Profit Declines, Misses Estimates

Generic drugmaker Cadila Healthcare Ltd.’s profit fell for the fifth straight quarter, largely due to disruption ahead of the Goods and Services Tax rollout.

Net profit declined 65 percent in April-June over the year-ago period to Rs 138.4 crore, it said in an exchange filing. The consensus of analyst estimates surveyed by Bloomberg stood at Rs 347 crore.

Revenue, or the total income, fell 4 percent to Rs 2,229 crore. The topline also missed the consensus estimate of Rs 2,543 crore.

This was largely on account of a 19 percent decline in the India business ahead of the GST, Amey Chalke and Siddhant Mansukhani, analysts at HDFC Securities, said in a note. Distributors across sectors had cut inventory in the run-up to GST fearing losses.

Cadila Healthcare’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation fell 47 percent to Rs 278 crore. EBITDA margin contracted 1,000 basis points to 12.5 percent.

Shares of the drugmaker erased gains and fell as much as 6.7 percent to Rs 435.10 apiece, making it the worst performer on the Nifty Pharma index.