Piramal Pharma shares hit 52-week high post Q4

Shares of Piramal Pharma surged as much as 11% to hit a 52-week high of ₹166.60 apiece on the BSE after the company reported a 163% year-on-year increase in its consolidated net profit to ₹132 crore, as against the previous closing price of ₹50 crore.

The scrip opened higher at ₹157.25, up 4.8%, as against the previous closing price of ₹150.30. At 12:56 pm, the share price of the pharmaceutical company was trading 5.79% at ₹159.  In contrast to this, the broader BSE Sensex was trading 187.70 points or 0.26% lower at 72,476.77.

The drugmaker's market capitalisation stood at ₹21,041 crore with more than 14 lakh shares exchanging hands on the BSE, as against the two-week average of 4.73 lakh shares. The company hit a 52-week low of ₹69.91 on May 19 last year.

In the past one month, three months and one year, the counter has surged 14.92%, 18.55% and 117.47%, In the year-to-date period, the counter has surged 32.65%.

In the January to March quarter of FY24,  Piramal Pharma’s revenue from operations grew 18% to ₹2,552 crore as against ₹2,164 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year driven by healthy growth in CDMO (contract development and manufacturing organisation) and ICH (Indian consumer healthcare) businesses. Of this revenue from CDMO business improved by 29% to ₹1,649 crore. The revenue from ICH business which includes brands such as Lacto Calamine and Polycrol stood at ₹238 crore, witnessing a growth of 14%.

The company’s EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) stood at ₹556 crore, witnessing a growth of 48%, as against the previous closing price of ₹376 crore, primarily driven by revenue growth, operating leverage, cost optimisation and operational excellence initiatives. The company’s EBITDA margin improved to 22% during the quarter under review from 17% in the March quarter of FY24.

In FY24, Piramal Pharma’s net debt stood at ₹3,932 crore from ₹4,781 crore in FY23.

“We saw significant increase in order inflows, especially for on-patent commercial manufacturing, amidst a difficult biotech funding environment. Contributions from our innovation related work and differentiated offerings also increased in FY24,” says Nandini Piramal, chairperson, Piramal Pharma Limited.

"All our three businesses delivered higher EBITDA margins through operating leverage, cost optimization, and operational excellence initiatives. Our Net Debt / EBITDA ratio also improved significantly, as we ended the financial year below 3x compared to 5.6x at the start of the year," she adds.