(Corrects dateline to Oct 31 from Oct 28)
(Reuters) -Medplus Health Services, one of India’s top retail pharmacy chains, reported a 43.3% rise in second-quarter profit on Friday, driven by higher sales from new store openings and steady demand for its private label products.
Consolidated net profit rose to 555 million Indian rupees ($6.31 million) for the quarter ended September 30, up from 387 million rupees a year ago.
Total revenue rose 6.5% to 16.79 billion Indian rupees ($191.02 million).
The company, which operates over 4,200 pharmacies in India, has been expanding into smaller cities and plans to open 600 new stores by the end of this fiscal year.
It trails Apollo Pharmacy, which has more than 6,000 stores, and also competes with Reliance Industries’ Netmeds and other retail pharmacies.
MedPlus is benefitting from growing demand for its high-margin private label products in both the pharmaceuticals and consumer wellness categories.
The pharmacy chain is also offering online sale and at-home delivery of medicines, keeping up with the growing appetite for convenience among Indian customers.
($1 = 87.8950 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Kashish Tandon and Mridula Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Ronojoy Mazumdar)
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