Sun Pharma’s Israeli arm Taro doubles net profit

Mumbai: Drug maker Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd’s Israeli subsidiary Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd almost doubled its net profit to $47.3 million in the January-March quarter.

The company had posted a net profit of $25.7 million in the year-ago period. Net sales increased 34.7% to $145.1 million and operating profit rose 98.3% to $66.2 million from a year earlier in the three months to March.

Sun Pharma, the country’s most valuable drug maker, last year acquired Taro after a three-year legal battle following a troubled merger deal.

”We are pleased with the quarter’s results and the consistent progress that we continue to make,” Taro’s recently appointed chairman Kal Sundaram said in a statement. “As we have stated in the past, a portion of our revenue and profit growth is the result of pricing opportunities, the sustainability of which is uncertain.”

The company intends to ramp up its research and development expenditures to improve and expand its pipeline of products “in order to remain competitive in a highly competitive market,” Sundaram added.

The significant growth in Taro’s profit will boost the earnings of Sun Pharma, which is expected to announce audited annual results by the month-end.