More Stories

Informist, Thursday, Jul. 30, 2026

By Gunjan Rajput and Ashutosh Pati

MUMBAI/NEW DELHI – Mankind Pharma Ltd. expects higher raw material costs stemming from the war in West Asia to put pressure on its gross margins in the September quarter, the company's management said Thursday in a post-earnings call with analysts. However, the management has retained its gross and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation margin guidance for 2026-27 (Apr-Mar).

The management expects gross margins to remain above 71% and EBITDA margin at 25.5%-26.5% this financial year, with the guidance already factoring in the impact of higher raw material costs and other price pressures. The company has taken a conservative view on margins due to uncertainty arising from the West Asia crisis. "The only caveat we are putting is because of the West Asia crisis," management said, adding there were no other major factors behind the conservative gross margin outlook. The management reiterated that the company's EBITDA margin guidance remained unchanged despite the expected cost pressures.
 

Mankind Pharma's consolidated net profit for the June quarter rose nearly 30% on year and 2.5% on quarter to INR 5.68 billion. Analysts' estimate had pegged the bottom line at INR 5.86 billion for the quarter.

The New Delhi-headquartered company's consolidated revenue from operations grew almost 13% on year and a little over 17% sequentially to INR 40.31 billion. This was slightly higher than the INR 39.82 billion expected by the Street.

The company's gross margins could contract in the September quarter as commodity prices and the US dollar have risen. However, the impact was not reflected in the Apr-Jun quarter, as the company was carrying comfortable inventory procured before the increase in input costs, which supported margins during the June quarter.

Gross margin expanded 230 basis points on year to 72.8% in the June quarter, driven by price hikes, a richer product mix led by a higher share of chronic therapies, and a favourable base effect after inventory-related provisions in the year-ago period. The EBITDA margin rose 250 basis points to 26.3%, with most of the improvement coming from gross margin expansion and the rest from operating leverage. 

On the business outlook, management said it remains confident of delivering double-digit revenue growth in FY27 as recovery in the acute therapy business gathers pace and the chronic therapy portfolio continues to gain share. The company expects growth to be supported by higher hospital penetration, expansion of its chronic therapy portfolio, a new focused business for under-promoted brands, and stronger execution in underpenetrated markets.

The company's approach to the glucagon-like peptide-1 market is strategic rather than cautious, as the segment has become highly competitive, with many companies having already launched their products. The management said it chose to wait for the initial rush to settle down and is focusing on building a broader obesity therapy portfolio instead of competing only on a single molecule. "It's not a cautious approach, it's a strategic approach. Why put your resources in something which tomorrow is very, very competitive?" the management said.

Mankind Pharma expects Bharat Serums and Vaccines Ltd. to deliver high-teen growth in FY27. "So last year BSV (Bharat Serums and Vaccines) growth was around early teens, well spread across domestic and international. This quarter the growth is around 21%, and we have given guidance of high double-digit growth, which is high teens," the management said.