India Ratings & Research (Ind-Ra) has affirmed Cipla (Cipla) long-term issuer rating at 'AAA' with a stable outlook.  Ind-Ra has also affirmed the company's Rs 10 billion commercial paper/short-term debt programme at 'A1+'.

The agency has withdrawn the 'AAA(exp)' rating assigned to Cipla's proposed Rs 20 billion non-convertible debenture issuance (NCD) programme on Sept. 24, 2013 since the company has not proceeded with the issuance. Ind-Ra has assigned an 'AAA' rating to the proposed Rs 20 billion NCD programme.

The ratings reflect Cipla's strong business profile as a leading generics player in the domestic market. Cipla's domestic product sales account for 45% of the turnover while exports account for 55% presently. In FY14, the company had a market share of 5.3% in the domestic formulation industry with market leadership in respiratory, anti-infective, cardiac, gynaecology and gastro-intestinal therapies. The ratings also reflect the product diversification benefits enjoyed by the company with the above five therapies accounting for 54% of its domestic turnover.

Cipla enjoys a dominant position in the domestic respiratory segment with around 70% market share in the inhaler segment. Cipla has a portfolio of around 2000 products across 65 therapeutic categories with over 40 dosage forms covering a wide spectrum of disease.

Internationally, the company has a strong presence in over 170 countries through its subsidiaries and partners. From a strategic perspective, Africa is a key market and accounted for around 40% of the total product exports in FY14 followed by North America and Europe.

Shares of the company declined Rs 15.05, or 2.51%, to settle at Rs 585.30. The total volume of shares traded was 302,139 at the BSE (Wednesday).