MNC pharma in focus; Merck, Novartis India, GSK Pharma hit 52-week highs

Novartis India, Merck, GSK Pharma, Pfizer and Sanfoi India have rallied by up to 13% on the BSE in intra-day trade.

Shares of multinational (MNC) pharmaceutical companies have rallied by up to 13%, hitting their respective 52-week highs on the BSE in intra-day trade on Wednesday after reporting a strong financial result for the quarter ended June 2018.

Novartis India (up 13% at Rs 734), Merck (up 5% at Rs 3,030), GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Pharmaceuticals (up 2% at Rs 3,339) were trading at their respective 52-week highs, while Pfizer (up 5% at Rs 2,794) and Sanfoi India (up 1% at Rs 6,215) were quoting close to their 52-week highs on the BSE. On comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 0.47% at 37,841 points at 12:00 PM.

The aggregate net profit of five MNC pharma companies increased 83% at Rs 3,383 million in June 2018 quarter. These companies had posted a combined net profit of Rs 1,845 million during the same quarter last year.

Merck hit an all-time high of Rs 3,030, up 5%, extending its Tuesday’s 18% rally, after company posted 140% YoY jump in its June quarter net profit at Rs 483 million on the back of robust operating income.  The company had a net profit of Rs 201 million in the year ago period. Revenue rose 33% YoY at Rs 2,203 million against Rs 1,653 million.

Novartis India has surged 13% to Rs 734 on the BSE in intra-day trade on 10-fold jump in trading volumes. Around 112,000 equity shares changed hands so far against an average 14,000 shares were traded daily in past two weeks on the BSE. The company posted 42% year on year (YoY) growth in net profit at Rs 100 million in June quarter.

	Net sales Rs million			Net profit Rs million
Company	Jun-17	Jun-18	% chg	Jun-17	Jun-18	% chg
Glaxosmi. Pharma	5829	7357	26	264	886	235
Merck	1653	2203	33	201	483	140
Novartis India	1148	1381	20	70	100	42
Pfizer	4209	5123	22	572	918	61
Sanofi India	5558	6395	15	737	996	35
Aggregate	18397	22459	22	1845	3383	83
Source: CapitalinePlus