Dr Reddy Q1 net dips as costs, competition hurts

By siliconindia staff writer   |   Wednesday, 28 July 2004, 19:30 IST
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MUMBAI: Indian drug maker Dr Reddy's Laboratories reported on Tuesday its quarterly net profit fell on high research and development costs, growing competition and a lack of big drug launches. The Hyderabad-based firm said its first-quarter net profit according to Indian accounting standards, fell to Rs 309.4 million ($7 million) from Rs 1.2 billion reported a year earlier. Dr Reddy's, India's only New York Stock Exchange-listed drug firm, is one of a handful of Indian generic drug makers to have made headway in the developed pharma markets of the United States and Europe. Ahead of the results, Dr Reddy's shares closed 0.26 per cent up at the Bombay Stock Exchange. The stock has lost 47 per cent from the start of 2004, underperforming the Bombay Stock Exchange's Healthcare index's 10 per cent losses and the broader Bombay Stock Exchange index's 12 per cent losses.