Weak India business, but Cadila Healthcare riding on strong US momentum

Benefits of the good US show were partly offset by declining domestic sales due to rationalisation of portfolio

Cadila Healthcare reported better-than-expected performance for the December quarter, driven largely by strong growth in US sales. Sales at Rs 3,516 crore, up 10.6 per cent year-on-year (YoY), came ahead of consensus estimates of Rs 3,227 crore.

Analysts had been expecting tepid growth in the US, considering last year’s high base that included contributions from large products such as the generic Tamiflu (flu treatment) and generic Lialda (ulcerative colitis treatment drug).

Nevertheless, US sales — contributing more than half to overall sales at Rs 1,934  crore — grew 22 per cent YoY and 46 per cent sequentially. The growth was