Piramal Pharma clocked 11 per cent growth in revenue from operations at Rs 1,911 crore in the second quarter ended September 30, 2023 (Q2), backed by performance across its three businesses segments.
The company’s Contract Development and Manufacturing Organisation (CDMO) returned to mid-teen growth, with continued order inflows, especially for differentiated offerings and innovation-related work, said Nandini Piramal, Chairperson. “Our capacity expansion for Inhalation Anesthesia products is progressing well as we look to capitalise on the healthy demand in the global market. Our India Consumer Healthcare business is delivering steady growth driven by our power brands,” she added.
The company posted Rs 5 crore profit after tax in the quarter.
The first half of the financial year saw 14 per cent revenue growth, accompanied by an over 300 bps improvement in EBITDA margin, she said. “Historically our H2 (second half of the year) has been better than H1, both in terms of revenue and profitability. We expect a similar trend to play out this financial year as well, more specifically in Q4,” she added.
PPL’s Rs 1050-crore rights issue was completed in the quarter. The proceeds were used to reduce debt. Net debt as on September 30, 2023 stood at Rs 3,823 crore, down Rs 958 crore on the figure as of March 31, 2023. On the ESG front, the company looked to reduce its GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions by 42 per cent by FY30, compared to FY22, she added.
Q2 performance
The CDMO business clocked revenues of Rs 1,068 crore, registering 14 per cent growth. Complex Hospital Generic saw 5 per cent growth at Rs 589 crore, and India Consumer Healthcaresaw 13 per cent growth at Rs 256 crore.
PPL received its first revenue milestone from the expanded Grangemouth facility in the quarter. Facilities at Digwal, Pithampur, Riverview, Sellersville and Lexington contributed about 50 per cent of CDMO revenues.
The Complex Hospital Generics segment witnessed growth, buoyed by Inhalation Anesthesia (IA) products. The company maintained its leading positions in Sevoflurane (44 per cent market share) and Baclofen pre-filled syringe and vial (76 per cent market share) in the US. PPL is building a pipeline of 28 new products, which are at various stages of development, it said, adding that a US FDA inspection had concluded at its Bethlehem facility, with two observations. “Both observations relate to systems improvement, and are not related to data integrity,” it added.
The India Consumer Healthcare segment launched seven new products and two new SKUs during the quarter under review. Over 100 new products have been launched between FY21 to FY23, the note said. Its power brands, including Littles, Lacto Calamine, Polycrol, Tetmosol and I-range, grew by 15 per cent in H1FY24, and contributed to 42 per cent of ICH sales.
