India's Laurus Labs posts 32% profit jump on demand for drug ingredients

BENGALURU (Reuters) - India's Laurus Labs Ltd reported a 32.1% rise in third-quarter profit on Monday, boosted by strong demand in its businesses that make chemicals and other ingredients used in medicines.

The company's consolidated profit rose to 2.03 billion rupees (nearly $25 million) in the three months ended Dec. 31, from 1.54 billion rupees a year earlier.

Revenue at Laurus Labs, which also makes hepatitis C and oncology drugs, rose more than 50% to 15.45 billion rupees.

Laurus Labs said revenue from its Synthesis and active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) businesses, each of which account for more than 40% of total revenue, rose 210% and 49%, respectively, in the latest quarter.

While the Synthesis business manufacturers chemical substances used to make drugs, APIs are key biologically active elements in a drug that help with the desired health effects.

Laurus Labs's shares rose as much as 5.3% to 360 rupees on Monday after the results, notching their biggest intraday percentage gain since July.

The stock had declined 30.4% in 2022, compared with an 11.4% fall in the Nifty Pharma index. ($1 = 81.6750 Indian rupees)

 

(Reporting by Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)