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The sector, overall, has posted reasonable operating profits, as Table 1 shows - but multinationals have seen much greater volatility than domestic firms. Meanwhile, pharma exports have grown steadily over the past few years, as Table 2 shows.
What is also worth noting is that, for some companies like Sun Pharma and Wockhardt, earnings from abroad have come to occupy a much larger segment of revenue than they did earlier, as Table 3 shows.
How is the market reacting to changes in the pharma sector? By and large, most companies that are doing well have similar price-earnings multiples, above 20, as demonstrated by Table 4. And the BSE's pharma index has shown a steady increase, clearly visible in Table 5 - at less volatility than the Sensex. However, as Table 6 shows, several companies - such as Ranbaxy, of course, as also Jubilant and Cadila - had periods last year in which their stock prices were under severe stress.
