Ajanta Pharma

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994

**Ajanta Pharma - **

Q3 concall highlights -

Revenues @ 1105 vs 972 cr, up 14 pc
EBITDA @ 314 vs 170 cr, up 85 pc !!!
PAT @ 210 vs 135 cr, up 56 pc !!!

Geography wise sales performance -

India branded - 308 cr, up 5 pc ( led by strong growth in Ophthalmology segment @ 15, Cardiology segment growth at 6 pc. Launched 14 new products in India in FY 24 including 4 new to Mkt products ). India business operates in 4 main areas - Cardio, Derma, Opthal, Pain management

Asia branded - 292 cr, up 28 pc ( launched 15 new products in FY 24 in Asia AoR )

Africa branded - 155 cr, up 7 pc ( launched 5 new products in FY 24 in Africa AoR )

US Generics - 252 cr, down 5 pc ( launched 4 new products in US in FY 24 )

Africa institutional generics - 86 cr, up 180 pc ( basically anti-malarial products )

Money spent on R&D @ 86 cr for Q3 @ 5 pc of sales

Expect logistics costs to go up in Q4 due ongoing red-sea issues

EBITDA margin guidance for full FY 24 @ 27 +/- 1 pc. Margins should inch up further for next 2-3 yrs !!!

Capex for entire FY 24 expected @ 125 cr ( including maintenance capex, Rs 80 cr already spent )

Company expanded its number of MRs for its Asia, Africa branded business over the last few Qtrs. Hope to see increased MR productivity and mid to low teen top line growth in these geographies over next 2 yrs

Company is open for inorganic growth in the domestic mkts as they r generating healthy cash flows

If they r not able to identify acquisition tgts, they ll keep paying hefty dividends

Price erosion in US Mkts is abating, general mkt conditions turning favourable

On malarial vaccines having an impact on their Africa institutional business - vaccine efficacy isn’t very good. Plus the roll outs have been very slow. Don’t see a major impact on their business in next 3-5 yrs

Likely to file 8-12 ANDAs in US in next FY vs 6-8 ANDAs this FY. Hence the R&D costs should be higher

Company’s rank in the covered Mkts -

Opthal - 02

Cardio - 10

Derma - 05

Pain Management - 10

Company aspires to grow by 15 pc on topline in Q4

Disc : hold a tracking position, biased, not SEBI registered

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995

This growth for q4 is qoq or yoy?

996

They r guiding for 15 pc YoY growth for Q4

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997

Ajanta came up with another good set of nos, with sales growing by 20% and EPS by 69%. Management seemed confident of maintaining (and potentially improving) their EBITDA margins in FY25. They have been very disciplined with their capital return program and have announced another buyback at 2770. This makes it their 5th buyback since 2019. Concall notes below.

FY24Q4 concall

  • Sales grew at 20%, Gross margin 75%, EBITDA margins ~ 26%, PAT margins ~ 19%

  • Expect low teens sales growth in FY25 with branded generics growing in mid-teens and 28% EBITDA margins

  • Buyback of 285 cr. at Rs.2770/share

  • US :

    • 32% YOY growth (FY24 growth of 16%) (0 new launches)

    • Target to file 8-12 products in FY25 and growth of low double-digit

    • FY25: Expect 6 launches (1 launch in Q1, Q2, and remaining in Q3/Q4)

    • 8-10% price erosion, shortages have gone up, market is favorable

  • Domestic :

    • 14% YOY growth (FY24 growth of 11%), launched 2 new products (0 first launch in India). In FY24, launched 15 new products (4 first launch in India)

    • MAT March 2024 : Volume 1.3% (vs 0.7% IPM), Price: 4% (vs 4% IPM), New product: 4.1% (vs 2.9% IPM)

    • Cardiac MAT growth of 4% in March 2024 (vs 10% for IPM). Ex MetXL, growth was 11%. Q4 growth was 14% as price impact of MetXL got nullified

    • Trade generics : 41 cr. (vs 42 cr. in Q4FY23), 161 cr. (vs 151 cr. in FY24)

    • Added 200+ MRs in India (MRs increased to 3000+ vs 2800+ in Q3FY24)

  • Emerging market (branded generics)

    • Africa branded grew by 13% (FY24 growth of 5%) (launched 9 new products in Africa in FY24)

    • Asia branded grew by 18% (FY24 growth of 10%) (launched 18 new products in Asia in FY24). 75-80% of portfolio is chronic

    • Launched 7 new products in emerging markets (27 in FY24)

  • Africa institution

    • Growth of 23% YOY (FY24 growth of 31%)

  • FY24 CAPEX: 160 cr. (expect 175-200 cr. capex + maintenance in FY25). Don’t need to add capacity for next 2 years

  • R&D stood at 5% of sales (expect it to be at 5% going ahead)

  • Global MR count is 4,800+ (vs 4,500+ in Q3FY24). Indian MRs increased to 3,000+ (vs 2,800+ in Q3FY24). Majority of global MRs are in Africa

Disclosure: Invested (position size here, no transactions in last-30 days)

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998

I see a pledge being created by one of the promoters for refinancing. Normally share pledge by promoter is viewed negatively. Ofcourse, it can be viewed positively, if the fund is used for right reason. Share price of Ajanta pharma has raised. Does anyone know the reason and explain?

999

In past also multiple times they did same. It’s a small pledge. Nothing to worry about. It’s a cash rich company.

1 Like
1001

A few observations from the Ajanta Annual Report FY2023-24:

  1. As per IQVIA MAT March 2024, Ajanta’s faster growth is contributed mainly by volumes and new launches. Volume was about 2x to IPM, and new launches were about 1.4x to IPM.

  2. In India, over 50 % of the 300+ strong product portfolio is first-to-market.

  3. During the year, manufacturing facilities at Paithan and Dahej have cleared the US FDA inspections with zero observations (among 4 % in the world).

  4. During the year, 7 new ANDAs were filed, 6 ANDA approvals received. Totally 44 products available on shelf and 22 ANDAs are awaiting approval with the US FDA.

  5. In India, a total of 10 Dossiers filed to DCG(I) for Domestic Market. DCG(I) Approval for 6 products received including 3 products approvals for 1st time in country - 2 for products having novel triple drug combination of antihypertensive therapeutic category and 1 for new dosage form (Jelly) for drug of 1 therapeutic category.

  6. A total of 516 product Dossiers filed for export registration in ROW markets and 469 approvals received.

  7. Strengthened the branded generics business by penetrating deeper into existing markets, expanding into new promising countries, and increasing field force to widen reach with medical professionals through segment-focused marketing.

  8. Scaled up margins on the back of the enhanced contribution of Branded Generics business and normalisation of freight costs. Saved about 300 basis points in API procurement and Rs.100 crore in logistics costs during the year. EBITDA margin stood at 28 % which is among the best in the industry. Expect this to now remain at this level or see small improvement in coming years.

  9. One of the key additions to the company’s capability during the year was the first-ever ‘Form Fill Seal’ machine for drinkable ampoules at one of the facilities. A drinkable ampoule is an airtight container that holds a single dose of liquid medication for patient use and the company is probably the first in India to use this technology.

  10. Commissioned a new 6.4 MW solar power plant at Partur in Maharashtra, taking renewable energy portfolio to 30 %+ of total energy consumption. Aim to take this to 50 % in the next two years and 100 % by FY2032.

  11. In FY 2025, expect the U.S. business to grow at a much slower pace in the wake of fewer launches, that too towards the end of the financial year.

  12. No new capex expected in FY25 except maintenance capex estimated to be about Rs.250 cr.

  13. Five growth levers:

  • New product launches across markets
  • Increased market share in existing products
  • Increasing the field presence as needed
  • Add new countries
  • Focus on digitalization & data analytics

(Disc.: Invested)

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