Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. reported a surprise loss for the quarter ended September owing to a one-off anti-trust litigation provision. In an exchange filing, the country's leading drug manufacturing company said it posted net loss to the tune of Rs. 219 crore in Q2FY19 in comparison to profit of Rs. 912 crore in the same quarter in the year ago period.

Revenue at the company during the reporting period grew by 4% to Rs 6,938 crore year-on-year. This is lower than the analyst estimate of Rs. 7,600 crore.

Operating income or the earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation increased 11% to Rs 1,531 crore. The operating margin increased to 22.5%, posting a surge of 180 basis points. 1 basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point.

A one-time loss of Rs.1,217 crore has been incurred by the pharma major for the estimated settlement amount payable in lieu of all the pending plantiffs in relation to Modafini, sleep apnea drug, in the US.

"Our soft Q2 performance is not a reflection of the underlying health of the overall business," said Dilip Shanghvi, its managing director. "We continue to focus on strengthening our core operations and enhancing our overall efficiencies."

Ahead of the results, shares of Sun Pharma dropped 4.7% to Rs 561.70 per share.

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