Dr. Reddy's (RDY) Q4 Earnings Fall, Revenues Decline Y/Y

Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd. (NYSE:RDY) reported fourth-quarter fiscal 2018 earnings per American Depositary Share (ADS) of 28 cents, down 3.5% from 29 cents earned in the year-ago quarter.

Moreover, revenues decreased 0.6% year over year to $543 million.

Year to date, shares of the company have decreased 21.5% compared with the industry’s decline of 6.8%.

Quarter in Detail

Dr. Reddy’s reported revenues under three segments — Global Generics, Pharmaceutical Services & Active Ingredients (“PSAI”), and Proprietary Products and Others.

Global Generics revenues fell about 4.5% year over year to $427.5 million during the fourth quarter. The decline was due to lower contribution from North America generics markets due to higher price erosion and unfavorable US dollar conversion.

PSAI revenues were $96 million, down 15.7% from the year-ago quarter.

Revenues at the Proprietary Products and Others segment came in at $19.4 million, up 26% from the year-ago quarter.

Further, research and development expenses were down 4.3% year over year to $67 million.

Selling, general and administrative expenses were $185 million, up 9.5% year over year.

As of Mar 31, 2017, Dr. Reddy has 110 generic filings (107 abbreviated New Drug Applications (ANDAs) and three new drug applications) that are pending for the FDA approval. Of these 107 ANDAs, 63 were Para IV filings and 30 have first-to-file status.

2017 Results

For the full fiscal year, earnings came in at 91 cents down from $1.11 in fiscal 2016.

Revenues increased 0.8% to $2,181 million in fiscal 2017.

Our Take

In fourth-quarter fiscal 2018, Dr. Reddy’s to and bottom line suffered a year-over-year decline. This was mainly due to continuing headwinds in the U.S markets and a temporary drop in sales in Russia in the fourth quarter, due to a shift in the channel purchasing pattern.

Looking ahead, the company plans to continue to work diligently on resolving pending regulatory issues. The company will also focus on accelerating new products to market and improving its approval process.

The company’s first-cycle NDA approval of high potency topical steroid Impoyz for the treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis in patients 18 years of age or older is a significant milestone in the commercialization of its proprietary products pipeline.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Dr. Reddy’s has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks from the same space are Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN) , Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) , and Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENTA) . While Illumina sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Ligand and Enanta carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Illumina’s earnings per share estimates have moved up from $4.60 to $4.84 for 2018 and from $5.34 to $5.57 for 2019 over the past 30 days. The company delivered a positive earnings surprise in all the trailing four quarters with an average beat of 23.17%. The stock has rallied 24% so far this year.

Ligand’s earnings per share estimates have been revised upward from $4.07 to $4.37 for 2018 over the past 60 days. The company came up with a positive earnings surprise in all of the trailing four quarters with an average beat of 31.79%. The company’s shares have rallied 36.7% year to date.

Enanta’s earnings per share estimates have moved north from 86 cents to $2.97 for 2018 over the past 30 days. The company pulled off a positive surprise in three of the last four quarters with an average beat of 372.02%. The stock has soared 71.3% so far this year.

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