Shares of the company, which manufactures generic versions of respiratory drugs Advair and Albuterol, were flat after the results but closed 0.7% lower in their second straight session of losses.

Cipla's consolidated net profit jumped to 5.26 billion rupees in the quarter ended March 31 from 3.62 billion rupees a year earlier.

Revenue from sale of products rose 8.5% to 56.66 billion rupees. Revenue from its mainstay pharmaceutical business climbed nearly 7% to 55.36 billion rupees, while revenue from new ventures more than doubled to 2.34 billion rupees.

Cipla, which also makes anti-allergic drug Cetirizine, said revenue from its drugs business in India rose 3.5%, while revenue from its North American market surged 39%.

Cipla's profit growth had outpaced its revenue growth in the second and third quarters, helped by a smaller rise in operating expenses.

The company's EBITDA margins for the quarter expanded to 20.5% from 14.5% from a year earlier.

The Mumbai-based company expects to achieve adjusted EBITDA margin between 23%-24% in the financial year 2024, Cipla's Global Chief Executive Officer Umang Vohra said in a post-earnings call.

Cipla's peer Dr Reddy's Laboratories posted a jump in fourth-quarter profit on Wednesday, while Lupin Ltd swung to a profit from a loss last year.

($1 = 81.7800 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Rama Venkat in Bengaluru; Editing by Sohini Goswami)

By Rama Venkat