UPDATE 1-Dr Reddy's post Q4 loss; sees revenue growing 10 pct

* Took $290 mln in one-time charge related to German unit * Revenue growth in FY10 to moderate from a year ago

* Sees upside from launch of Omeprazole Mg during FY10

* Betapharm volume growing, pricing pressure remains: CEO (Adds details, changes dateline to BANGALORE)

BANGALORE, May 18 - Indian drug maker Dr Reddy's Laboratories <REDY.BO> said a $290 million write down against its German unit pushed it to a March quarter loss, and said volumes were growing but prices remained under pressure.

Revenue was expected to grow 10 percent in the 2009/10 fiscal year (April/March) as Dr Reddy's launches new drugs and focuses on key markets such as the United States, Germany, Russia and India, chief executive G.V. Prasad said.

"I think we are seeing significant volume growth all around, that's what helping the growth," Prasad told Reuters.

Still, revenue growth is expected to slow sharply from 39 percent in 2008/09. Prasad said revenue in 2008/09 was boosted by the launch of the U.S. launch of a generic and a weaker rupee.

The company launched its acute migraine drug Sumatriptan, a generic of GlaxoSmithKline's <GSK.L> Imitrex, in the U.S. market in the December quarter, helping it more than double its revenue from North America to $390 million in the year.

Prasad said earnings should be helped by the U.S. launch of Omeprazole Mg. The drug is a generic variant of Prilosec and is indicated in the treatment of stomach ulcers and acid reflux. Bank of America-Merrill Lynch expected Dr Reddy's to get the approval for the drug in the second half of 2009/10, and it was expected to contribute $35 million in annual sales.

Prasad said the German unit, Betapharm, which has been a drag on earnings, was seeing a surge in volume but pressure on prices remained. Dr Reddy's has moved Betapharm's main manufacturing unit to India and other facilities in Europe to cut costs.

Betapharm, which Dr Reddy's bought in 2006 for $572 million, has been facing supply constraints and falling prices.

BETAPHARM WRITE-OFF

Dr Reddy's reported a consolidated net loss of 9.8 billion rupees ($204 million) for its fiscal fourth quarter that ended March 31, compared to a net profit of 926 million rupees in the year-ago period under international accounting standards.

The average forecast in a Reuters poll of 11 brokerages was for net profit at 768.8 million rupees.

Under Indian accounting standards, the company reported a net profit of 1.56 billion rupees.

Dr Reddy's wrote off 10.86 billion rupees in goodwill and 3.17 billion rupees in intangible assets at Betapharm -- more than half what it paid for the company at current exchange rates.

"If you look at the market, when we acquired the company it was in a branded market," Prasad said. "It has moved to become a commodity market and, based on the new valuations today, I think the write-off reflects our view of the value of the company."

In December, Betapharm preliminarily won eight supply contracts in a tender by Germany's largest health insurer, Allgemeine Ortskrankenkasse (AOK), which it said would boost volumes but at lower margins.

Shares in Hyderabad-based Dr Reddy's, which the market values at $2 billion, rose 4 percent during the March quarter, compared to a 4.6 percent drop in the healthcare index <.BSEHC> and 0.6 percent rise in the benchmark index <.BSESN>.

The stock rose 4.5 percent on Monday to 598.80 rupees. ($1=47.9 rupees)