Cipla Q2 profit falls as Europe, emerging markets suffer

Cipla Ltd, India's fifth-largest drugmaker by sales, on Wednesday reported a 35% fall in quarterly profit, missing analysts' estimates, mainly due to lower sales in the emerging markets and Europe.

Net profit in the July-September quarter was 3.54 billion rupees ($53.3 million), down from 5.43 billion rupees during the same period a year earlier. That compared with the average estimate of 3.92 billion rupees from analysts in a Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S poll.

Sales in India, Cipla's biggest market, rose 21% in the quarter, the company said in a statement.

North America, where Cipla has been working on building up its presence, contributed 18% to sales in the second-quarter. Sales from the region rose 38%.

Those rises could not offset a 27% fall in Europe sales, and a 1% fall in emerging markets, which are Cipla's second-largest contributor to sales.