Mankind Pharma wants to export niche products

Mankind Pharma is looking to enter the export market of niche products though the main focus will continue to be the domestic market as it is unsure how long the current pace of export growth will continue, the Indian pharmaceutical company’s Vice Chairman Rajeev Juneja said on February 12.

“As far as export is concerned, it is a one-off. We don't know till when we will have this golden run. Mankind has always been a more-than 90% domestic company. So, our focus is always towards the domestic side,” Juneja told CNBC-TV18 in an exclusive conversation.

June's remarks come days after the company reported its results for the October to December 2023 quarter in which its export revenue grew 118% year-on-year to ₹207 crore, aided by certain one-off opportunities in the US.

In addition to the US, the company also exports to many countries including Sri Lanka, Nepal, Chile, and Kenya among others.

The export revenue growth has been rising for the past many quarters. In fact, for the nine months ending December 2023, the growth was 154% at ₹546 crore from the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.

Reflecting on the export outlook, Juneja said Mankind Pharma is very clear that it wants to enter the export market with niche products — any product that is complex, difficult to make, and has entry barriers. “Only then do we want to go for exports, otherwise not; we are doing great on the domestic side,” he said.

Domestic business, on the other hand, witnessed a strong growth of 20% YoY during the third quarter of the fiscal primarily driven by outperformance in chronic therapies (1.5x to IPM), recovery in anti-infectives (13.8% YoY vs 9.5% in IPM), and further bolstered by strong growth in modern trade and hospital sales, according to the firm’s statement.

The firm’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 39% YoY to ₹611 crore with a margin of 23.4%, which is up 240 basis points annually for the quarter under review. Juneje expects the margin to sustain between the 24-26% range.