Indian drugmaker Lupin beats quarterly profit estimates on strong demand

(Reuters) - Indian generic drugmaker Lupin reported a bigger-than-expected rise in its third-quarter profit on Wednesday, helped by strong demand in its North American and domestic markets.

Consolidated net profit after tax rose four-fold, to 6.13 billion rupees (nearly $74 million) in the quarter ended Dec. 31, beating analysts' average estimate of 4.56 billion rupees, according to LSEG data.

This is the fourth straight quarter profit more than doubled at the company.

Lupin's results follow those of larger generic drugmakers, including Dr. Reddy's, Cipla and Sun Pharma, all of which beat their third-quarter profit estimates on strong U.S. sales.

Sales in North America grew nearly 24% during the quarter, boosted by strong demand for Lupin's generic version of Boehringer Ingelheim's Spiriva Handihaler, an inhaler used for bronchial asthma.

The company's sales in India also climbed 13.4%, driven by robust demand for its branded prescription and consumer health products, including popular items such as Life Be One capsule.

The combined revenue from India and the U.S. contributed around 70% to Lupin's total revenue.

This resulted in a 20% rise in the company's overall revenue to 51.97 billion rupees, surpassing analysts' expectations of 49 billion rupees.

Shares of Lupin closed nearly unchanged ahead of results. They climbed 13% in the December quarter, outperforming the Nifty Pharma index's 9% gain.

($1 = 82.9580 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Manvi Pant and Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru; Editing by Ravi Prakash Kumar)