Cipla banks on diversified model to weather tariff woes

Against the backdrop of US tariffs proposed on generic drugs as well, Cipla said it has a diversified model in the US, and can adapt.

“Our model is highly diversified, so that does help us, in terms of any short-term movements,” said Achin Gupta, Cipla Managing Director and Global Chief Executive Officer, adding that it was an evolving situation that they would continue to monitor. About 35-40 percent of the company’s manufacturing comes from within the US, Gupta said, in an interaction with the media, after it announced its financial performance for the first quarter or three months ended June 30, 2026.

Cipla would continue to build its US business, as well as other markets, Gupta said: “US also remains a very large market opportunity. So the question is more around how do we continue to serve the market in US and the patients in US, and provide high-quality, affordable care.”

Cipla’s Profit After Tax (PAT) for the first quarter was down – 39 percent at ₹789 crore, as compared to ₹1,298 crore in the same period last year. Its total revenue from operations stood at ₹7,119 crore in the period under review, compared to ₹6,957 crore last year. North America revenues posted a quarterly revenue of $ 162 million.

Explaining the dip in PAT, Gupta told businessline, that it had benefited the previous year, same quarter, due to higher revenues on lenalidomide and lanreotide. “The new products are still catching up,” he added. Further, he said, “We are continuously working on, not just launching new products, but we’re also working on how do we optimize our productivity, how do we optimize our costs, so that we, rebuild the margins to a more healthier level.”

Cipla’s One India business at ₹3,452 crore recorded its highest quarterly sale, said Gupta, growing 12 percent over last year. The company sells a second brand of Eli Lilly’s obesity drug Mounjaro (Tirzepatide), and Gupta said, given its good performance, they may not have to look at others, referring to semaglutide that went off patent protection in India. But it could look at the product in the global market, given the patent expiries, he added. India accounted for 48 per cent of the company’s total revenue, while North America accounted for 22 per cent.

Cipla’s API business also fell 28 per cent to ₹160 crore, in the quarter under revenue. Gupta explained it had to do with the geo-political situation over the last three-four months. On deploying the ₹10,094 crore cash it has on its book, Gupta said, the company would look for complex products in the US, opportunities to grow in Europe, even in India, in segments where they are under-represented including biologics.