Glenmark Life Sciences Q3 profit rises to Rs 119 cr, API biz up 6.4%

Indian drugmaker Glenmark Life Sciences posted a 13% rise in third-quarter profit on Tuesday, helped by a robust performance by its core active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) business.

The Mumbai-based company, which detergent maker Nirma is in the process of taking over, said its profit rose to 1.19 billion rupees ($14.32 million) in the quarter ended Dec. 31.

Revenue from its API business rose 6.4% to 5.11 billion rupees, making it the biggest contributor to the total revenue. APIs are crucial chemical compounds, used in drugs to help produce the desired health effects.

The company has over 130 APIs in its portfolio across key therapy areas such as cardiovascular, oncology and anti-infectives and operates in the U.S., Europe, Latin America and India.

Total revenue from operations rose 5.9% to 5.73 billion rupees.

"This (growth during the quarter) was fuelled by the robust performance of the US, LATAM, RoW and India (ex-GPL) markets," CEO Yasir Rawjee said, using GPL to refer to parent Glenmark Pharma.

Last year, Glenmark Pharma agreed to sell a 75% stake in the life sciences unit, spun off in 2019 to focus on the API business, to Nirma to pay off some of its debt of about 46 billion rupees. Post the deal, it would hold only a 7.84% stake in the unit.

Revenue from its contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) unit rose 27.2%, said Glenmark Life Sciences, which counts companies such as Aurobindo Pharma and Torrent Pharmaceuticals among its customers.

"Looking ahead, a strong orderbook for external business, coupled with improved visibility of CDMO business gives me confidence of delivering steady growth in FY24 and in the coming years," Rawjee said.

Shares of the company closed 1% lower ahead of the results on Tuesday.