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According to a study by Pharmabiz, the leading 30 pharmaceutical companies, with revenues above Rs. 2,500 crore, have registered a robust net profit growth of 31 per cent during the financial year 2024-25. The study reveals that revenues of these sample of top 30 pharmaceutical companies were up by an impressive 10.9 per cent to Rs. 3,50,133 crore during 2024-25 from Rs. 3,15,798 crore in the previous year. Out of 30 companies, 11 companies recorded revenues above Rs. 10,000 crore and 8 companies posted revenues of over Rs. 5,000 crore. As usual, Sun Pharmaceuticals maintained its top position with revenues of Rs. 52,041 crore, which is a growth of 9 per cent over the last year. Dr Reddy’s Laboratories grabbed the second spot with revenues of Rs. 31,632 crore from Rs. 27,140 crore in the previous year, registering an impressive growth of 16.6 per cent. Aurobindo Pharma went down to third rank from its second rank with revenues of Rs. 31,378 crore in 2024-25 from Rs. 28,705 crore. Cipla maintained its position at fourth place with sales of Rs. 27,145 crore as against Rs. 25,447 crore last year. Zydus Lifesciences moved from sixth place in last year to fifth place with sales of Rs. 22,574 crore during this financial year. Lupin reported revenues of Rs. 22,192 crore and went down to sixth place in the Pharmabiz sample of top 30 pharma companies during 2024-25 followed by Biocon Rs. 15,052 crore, Glenmark Pharma Rs. 13,146 crore, Alkem Laboratories Rs. 12,964 crore, Mankind Pharma Rs. 12,207 crore and Torrent Pharma Rs. 11,317 crore during this financial year. Likewise, Indian companies focused on R&D activities were able to step up their presence in the highly regulated markets like US and Europe. Sun Pharma invested Rs. 3,154 crore on R&D during 2024-25 as compared to Rs. 3,128 crore in the previous year. Similarly, Dr Reddy’s spent Rs. 2,738 crore on R&D as against Rs. 2,287 crore. Zydus incurred R&D investment of Rs. 1,856 crore and Lupin Rs. 1,767 crore. Alkem Labs, Torrent Pharma and Alembic Pharma invested Rs. 562 crore, Rs. 581 crore and Rs. 522 crore respectively during 2024-25.
Of course, the Indian pharma industry has registered a stellar performance which is evident from the profit margins of some of the companies. The profit before tax (PBT) of Strides Pharma has taken quantum jump of over 228 per cent to Rs. 420 crore from Rs. 128 crore and that of Laurus Labs moved up by over 105 per cent to Rs. 484 crore from Rs. 236 crore. Glenmark’s PBT went up by 89.1 per cent to Rs. 1,772 crore from Rs. 937 crore and Lupin PBT increased by 65.8 per cent to Rs. 4,015 crore from Rs. 2,422 crore in the previous year. The PBT of Sun Pharma, Zydus Lifesciences, Divi’s Labs, Piramal Pharma, GlaxoSmithKline Pharma, Natco Pharma, Emcure Pharma, Jubilant Pharma, etc went up smartly by over 20 per cent during 2024-25. However, PBT of Gland Pharma and Syngene International was under pressure and declined marginally. Wockhardt has successfully reduce its loss before tax to Rs. 16 crore from Rs. 406 crore in the 2023-24 and Dishman registered PBT of Rs. 37 crore as compared to loss before tax of Rs. 116 crore. These leading 30 pharmaceutical companies were able to post stellar performance due to new product launches, investments in research & development, capacity enhancement, partnerships and differentiated product portfolio. These players overcame problems like stiff competition in highly regulated markets, price erosion, external volatility, geopolitical uncertainties and global supply chain constraints. No doubt, despite uncertainties regarding new tariffs and geographical situation, Indian pharma will continue to outperform in the international market in the coming years. The pharmaceutical sector definitely looks promising in the country as the green shoots of growth are quite visible on the horizon. The Indian companies should pull up their socks to maintain this winning momentum.
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