Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd(RANB.BO), India's top drugmaker by sales, on Thursday swept past analyst estimates

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with a fifth straight quarter of profits.

Ranbaxy, controlled by Japan's Daiichi Sankyo(4568.T), said consolidated net profit stood at 3.26 billion rupees ($69.5 million) for the fiscal second quarter ended June, compared with 6.93 billion rupees reported a year earlier.

Analysts in a Reuters poll had, on average, expected net profit of 944 million rupees for the firm, which had incurred losses in three consecutive quarters to March 2009, hit by currency fluctuations and a U.S. ban on some products.

Last month, rival Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd(REDY.BO) posted a surprise 14.3 percent fall in quarterly profit following a drop in sales in its key U.S. market.

Ranbaxy shares, which the market values at $4 billion, have dropped 13.6 percent so far this year, underperforming the 9.5 percent rise in the sector index and the main index's 3.5 percent gain.