BENGALURU, Oct 27 Reuters Cipla, India39;s thirdlargest generic drugmaker by sales, posted a biggerthanexpected rise in secondquarter profit on Friday, boosted by strength in its key domestic and North American business.

The company39;s consolidated net profit climbed 43.4 to 11.31 billion rupees 135.90 million in the quarter ended Sept. 30, beating analysts39; average estimate of 9.75 billion rupees, as per LSEG data.

Total revenue from operations rose nearly 15 to 66.78 billion rupees, led by a 13.4 growth in its mainstay pharmaceutical business, said Cipla, which makes generic respiratory and cancer drugs along with consumerbranded products such as pain reliever Omnigel.

Sales in North America climbed nearly 32, while its other key markets including India and South Africa posted a 10 and 3.7 growth, respectively.

Higher market share in cancer drugs Revlimid and Lanreotide and lower price erosion have helped Cipla39;s sales in the North American market, analysts said.

The strong Cipla numbers have set a positive tone for the large pharma results for the remainder of the quarter, said Shrikant Akolkar, an analyst at Asian Markets Securities, adding that gross margins also benefitted from falling raw material costs.

Meanwhile, its domestic sales were boosted by price hikes and the addition of medical representatives, who promote and sell pharmaceutical products to healthcare professionals.

Cipla39;s founding family has been keen to sell their 33.4 holding…