Ranbaxy's Profits Drop Again

Ranbaxy Laboratories, one of India’s leading drugmakers, has reported a 2005 net profit of $58 million, representing a 62% drop from a year ago. Sales reached $1.17 billion.

This is the second consecutive year that the company is experiencing a large drop in annual profit: At the end of 2004, the company’s net profit was 33% lower than it had been a year earlier. The company blames weak pricing in the key U.S. market for its most recent performance. In recent years, Ranbaxy has spent heavily to strengthen its R&D and international operations.

Ranbaxy also announced that its CEO and managing director, Brian W. Tempest, has been replaced by Malvinder Mohan Singh, who had been head of the company’s pharmaceutical business and an executive director.

In a move billed as a promotion, Tempest is now chief mentor and executive vice chairman of Ranbaxy’s board. Singh is the eldest son of Ranbaxy’s late founder, Parvinder Singh. He holds an M.B.A. from Duke University and a degree in economics from St. Stephen’s College in New Delhi.