Mumbai-headquartered drugmaker Cipla Limited has reported a sharp year-on-year decline in profitability for the September quarter, even as its domestic franchise delivered record sales and the company pointed to its US pipeline and biosimilar bets as the next growth levers.

According to the company’s exchange filing on 27 October 2026, consolidated net profit for Q2 FY27 fell about 35% to ₹878 crore, compared with ₹1,351 crore in the same quarter a year earlier. Revenue from operations slipped 2.4% to ₹7,404 crore from ₹7,589 crore, while EBITDA dropped roughly 27% to ₹1,388 crore. EBITDA margin narrowed to 18.7% from about 25% in Q2 FY26.

Sequential recovery after a soft first quarter

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the picture was more encouraging. Global revenue grew around 4% over Q1 FY27, and EBITDA margin improved by roughly 200 basis points sequentially, suggesting that the company is working its way back from a weaker start to the financial year.

One India posts its best quarter

Cipla’s One India business recorded its highest-ever quarterly sales, growing about 12% year-on-year, as reported by Upstox. The branded prescription segment grew ahead of the market, with respiratory, urology, cardiac, anti-diabetes and dermatology therapies all posting strong double-digit market growth, according to The Economic Times.

The trade generics business registered strong double-digit sequential growth, supported by more than 15 product launches during the quarter. In consumer health, brands such as Nicotex, Omnigel and Cipladine retained leadership positions in their segments.

US business and the inhalation play

North America revenue came in at USD 172 million, up USD 10 million from the previous quarter. Cipla’s generic albuterol metered-dose inhaler held the top position in the US albuterol MDI market with a 22% share.

The quarter also saw the US Food and Drug Administration approve Cipla’s generic version of Advair Diskus, the first dry powder inhaler approval from the company’s US manufacturing network, a notable milestone in complex inhalation generics. Separately, Cipla’s US arm entered an exclusive partnership with China’s Qilu Pharmaceutical to commercialise QL2107, a proposed biosimilar to Keytruda (pembrolizumab), in the US, with Qilu handling development, registration and supply. Financial terms of that deal were not disclosed.

International markets and R&D

In South Africa, the company’s private-market secondary sales rose 6.5% against overall market growth of 5%, keeping its prescription business at No. 2. The Emerging Markets and Europe business reported revenue of USD 101 million, which the company described as resilient despite geopolitical and market-specific headwinds.

Cipla invested ₹423 crore in research and development, about 5.7% of sales, mainly towards product filings and key development programmes, and reported a net cash position of ₹9,823 crore.

“We expect North America performance to remain supported by our upcoming product pipeline,” said Achin Gupta, Managing Director and Global CEO, Cipla, adding that the company remains focused on sustained growth in its core businesses, productivity improvements and a stronger pipeline “to serve patients with trusted, high-quality medicines.”

Market reaction

Cipla shares came under pressure after the results, falling as much as 3% intraday to ₹1,320 on the NSE against a previous close of ₹1,355, according to ETMarkets.

For India’s pharmaceutical sector, the quarter highlights a familiar balancing act: resilient domestic branded growth and complex-generic approvals on one side, and pressure on US pricing and margins on the other, with biosimilars and inhalation products emerging as key bets for the years ahead.

Sources: Cipla exchange filing (27 October 2026), as reported by The Economic Times / ETMarkets and Upstox; BioPharm International (Qilu partnership, 4 September 2026).

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