 "Share buyback nod fails to lift Ajanta Pharma; falls 7% on weak Q3 results")
Shares of Ajanta Pharma dipped 7 per cent to Rs 1,016 on BSE after the company’s consolidated net profit more-than-halved at Rs 67 crore in December quarter (Q3FY19), due to lower sales. It had posted a profit of Rs 147 crore in the year-ago quarter.
Operational income of the company during the quarter under review down 17 per cent to Rs 485 crore against Rs 587 crore in the corresponding quarter of previous fiscal. Emerging market branded generic sales posted de-growth of 25 per cent at Rs 188 crore against Rs 250 crore in previous year quarter.
Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and ammortisation (Ebitda) margin declined to 22.1 per cent from 33.7 per cent in the year-ago quarter.
The company said operational expenses of two new additional manufacturing facilities at Dahej and Guwahati during the year weighed on the profitability growths.
“This quarter was a bit challenging for the company which was the result of pipeline filling in the corresponding quarter of the previous year which got normalized. The quarter also saw a significant drop in the anti-malarial business due to changing conditions of this business segment,” said Yogesh Agrawal, Managing Director, Ajanta Pharma.
Meanwhile, the board of directors of Ajanta Pharma approved buyback of 769,230 equity shares representing 5.22 per cent of total equity at a price of Rs 1,300 per share through a tender offer. The proposed buyback will from all the equity shareholders of the company including promoters and members of the promoter group, as on the record date i.e. February 12, 2019.
As of September 30, 2018, promoters held 70.47 per cent stake in Ajanta Pharma. Among public shareholders, foreign portfolio investors held 10.13 per cent holding, followed by mutual funds (8.82 per cent), individual shareholders (8.62 per cent), while the remaining 1.96 per cent stake is with the others.
At 12:16 pm, Ajanta Pharma was trading 6 per cent lower at Rs 1,025 on the BSE. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 1.15 per cent or 410 points at 36,001. The trading volumes on the counter more than doubled with a combined 1.1 million equity shares changed hands on the BSE and NSE so far.
Operational income of the company during the quarter under review down 17 per cent to Rs 485 crore against Rs 587 crore in the corresponding quarter of previous fiscal. Emerging market branded generic sales posted de-growth of 25 per cent at Rs 188 crore against Rs 250 crore in previous year quarter.
Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and ammortisation (Ebitda) margin declined to 22.1 per cent from 33.7 per cent in the year-ago quarter.
The company said operational expenses of two new additional manufacturing facilities at Dahej and Guwahati during the year weighed on the profitability growths.
“This quarter was a bit challenging for the company which was the result of pipeline filling in the corresponding quarter of the previous year which got normalized. The quarter also saw a significant drop in the anti-malarial business due to changing conditions of this business segment,” said Yogesh Agrawal, Managing Director, Ajanta Pharma.
Meanwhile, the board of directors of Ajanta Pharma approved buyback of 769,230 equity shares representing 5.22 per cent of total equity at a price of Rs 1,300 per share through a tender offer. The proposed buyback will from all the equity shareholders of the company including promoters and members of the promoter group, as on the record date i.e. February 12, 2019.
As of September 30, 2018, promoters held 70.47 per cent stake in Ajanta Pharma. Among public shareholders, foreign portfolio investors held 10.13 per cent holding, followed by mutual funds (8.82 per cent), individual shareholders (8.62 per cent), while the remaining 1.96 per cent stake is with the others.
At 12:16 pm, Ajanta Pharma was trading 6 per cent lower at Rs 1,025 on the BSE. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 1.15 per cent or 410 points at 36,001. The trading volumes on the counter more than doubled with a combined 1.1 million equity shares changed hands on the BSE and NSE so far.
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