Piramal reports 18 pc jump in Q2 net profit at Rs 569 crore

Piramal Enterprises Ltd on Monday reported an 18 per cent jump in its net profit to Rs 569 crore for Q2 FY20 year-on-year and by 19 per cent to Rs 1,029 crore for H1 FY20.

Consolidated revenues increased by 15 per cent to Rs 3,604 crore in the second quarter and by 18 per cent to Rs 7,110 crore for the first half. The company said that 38 per cent of its revenues were earned in foreign currency for H1.

Profit before tax and exceptional items increased by 29 per cent year-on-year to Rs 733 crore for Q2 and by 25 per cent to Rs 1,338 crore for H1.

"Our diversified business model has enabled us to deliver resilient performance during this quarter, despite continued liquidity tightening in the non-banking finance sector," said Chairman Ajay Piramal.

Financial services business received inflows of Rs 45,000 crore over the past year and brought down commercial paper borrowings by 92 per cent to Rs 1,480 crore, reflecting the quality of the company's underwriting, client selection, and risk management practices.

Pharma and healthcare insights businesses continue to consistently deliver strong performance quarter on quarter, acting as a natural hedge and bringing stability to the company's performance even in the most volatile market environment.

Pharma revenues grew 19 per cent year-on-year to Rs 1,316 crore in Q2. While the global pharma business delivered strong earnings before depreciation, interest, taxes, and amortisation (EBITDA) margins of 24 per cent, India consumer products business sustained its strong recovery with revenue growth of 39 per cent in Q2.

Healthcare insights and analytics business also grew by 14 per cent to Rs 333 crores, delivering an EBITDA margin of 24 per cent in Q2.

"We remain committed to bringing in additional equity in the company in the near future, which will further bolster our plans to tap both organic and inorganic opportunities across our businesses," said Piramal in a statement.

With operations in 30 countries and brand presence in over 100 countries, the Piramal Group posted a turnover of 2.2 billion dollars (about Rs 15,665 crore) in FY19.