India's Dr Reddy's Q2 Net Up 32%; Beats Forecast

Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, India's No. 2 drugmaker by sales, on Saturday reported a 32% jump in its net profit for the quarter ending September, topping estimates. The New York-listed company reported a net profit of 2.87 billion rupees ($64 million) in the fiscal second-quarter ended Sept. 30, up from 2.17 billion rupees in the year-ago period, under international accounting standards.

It said strong sales in the domestic market helped boost profits.

Revenue rose 1.8% to 18.70 billion rupees.

A Reuters poll of brokerages had estimated quarterly profit at 2.56 billion rupees on revenue of 18.89 billion rupees. Dr Reddy's Laboratories' move to voluntarily recall four products from the U.S. market last September was expected to hurt sales numbers in the just ended September quarter as the year-ago quarter benefitted from sales of these products. Shares in the company have surged 41% this year, outpacing the 29% rise in the sector index and the 15.5% rise in the main index.