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Indian drugmaker Cipla said on Thursday its global chief executive and managing director, Umang Vohra, will step down at the end of his term in March after nearly a decade in the top role.

Achin Gupta, the firm's global chief operating officer, will take over the top role from Vohra from April 1, 2026 for a term of five years, the company said. Gupta, who joined Cipla in 2021, has been the global COO since February 2025.

The transition is in line with the succession process and will be proposed to shareholders, the company said.

Cipla on Thursday reported a better-than-expected second-quarter profit, driven by steady demand for its respiratory drugs.

The country's third-largest drugmaker by sales posted a 3.7% rise in consolidated net profit to 13.51 billion rupees ($153.7 million) in the quarter ended September 30, beating analysts' estimates of 13.47 billion rupees, per data compiled by LSEG.

Its total revenue rose 7.6% to 75.89 billion rupees, slightly above expectations of 74.30 billion rupees.

Revenue from India, Cipla's biggest market by sales, climbed 7% to 31.46 billion rupees, led by an 8% rise in sales of respiratory drugs.

The drugmaker said sales in North America stood at $233 million during the quarter, against $237 million in the year-ago period.

India and North America account for three-fourths of the company's total sales.

Last week, rival Dr Reddy's reported a quarterly profit that missed analysts' estimates and a 13% drop in its North America sales.

($1 = 87.8950 Indian rupees)