Anthem Biosciences Q1 Results: Shares fall over 7% as delayed deliveries drag earnings

Shares of Anthem Biosciences Ltd. fell as much as 7.5% in early trade on Wednesday, July 22, after the contract research, development and manufacturing organisation (CRDMO) reported a weak set of earnings for the June quarter. Its revenue and profit declining from the same period last year, as delayed customer deliveries weighed on its core business.

The company reported a consolidated net profit of ₹119.9 crore for the quarter ended June 30, down 11.7% from ₹135.8 crore a year earlier. Revenue from operations fell 22.6% year-on-year to ₹418.2 crore, compared with ₹540.2 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA) declined 18.1% year-on-year to ₹175.5 crore, while the EBITDA margin improved by 153 basis points to 39.6% from 38.1% a year ago. On a sequential basis, revenue fell 31.5%, EBITDA declined 44.9%, and profit dropped 36.8%.

Read more: Bajaj Auto 'bulls' see share price target beyond ₹13,000 apiece; Motilal Oswal upgrades after Q1

The weakness was driven primarily by the company's CRDMO segment, which contributes over 80% of revenue. CRDMO revenue declined 24.7% year-on-year to ₹340.8 crore from ₹452.7 crore, while the Speciality Ingredients business fell 11.5% to ₹77.4 crore.

Sequentially, CRDMO revenue declined 33.5%, and Speciality Ingredients revenue fell 21.1%.

Chairman, Managing Director and CEO Ajay Bhardwaj attributed the softer performance to the timing of customer deliveries rather than a slowdown in demand.

"Our Q1FY27 quarterly results reflect timing shifts in deliveries to key customers. The underlying demand remains strong, and with a higher concentration of scheduled deliveries in the latter half of the year, we are positioned to capture that momentum," Bhardwaj said.

He added that the company remains committed to sustaining revenue growth in line with its long-term historical performance.

Despite the decline in earnings, the company highlighted that profitability remained resilient. Bhardwaj said Anthem delivered year-on-year improvement in both EBITDA and PAT margins, supported by cost efficiencies, yield optimisation and employee productivity.

"Our disciplined focus on cost efficiencies, yield optimisation, and employee productivity continues to reinforce our industry-leading margin profile, positioning us to sustain this performance through the year," he said.

As of June 30, 2026, Anthem Biosciences reported a net cash position of ₹1,719.7 crore, up from ₹784.8 crore a year earlier. The company also maintained a strong balance sheet, with annualised post-tax ROCE of 23.3% and ROE of 15.4%.

Its commercial pipeline comprised 14 commercial molecules and 10 Phase III molecules, supported by 425 KL of custom synthesis capacity and 142 KL of fermentation capacity.

The pharmaceutical sector is also under pressure after US President Donald Trump announced a phased tariff plan for generic drugs imported into the US.

Under the proposal, generic medicines will remain exempt from tariffs until August 1, 2028, after which a 100% tariff will be imposed, rising to 200% from August 1, 2029, as part of an effort to encourage drug manufacturing in the US.

The announcement has put Indian drugmakers in focus, given that nearly 90% of their US sales by volume come from generic medicines, while India accounts for about 40% of US generic drug imports.

However, several analysts have said shifting large-scale generic manufacturing to the US would be challenging due to cost disadvantages, pricing pressure and the complexity of replicating India's manufacturing ecosystem.

Shares of Anthen Biosciences fell as much as 7.5% to an intraday low of ₹732 but have recovered nearly half of those losses, to now trade 3.5% lower at ₹763.5. The stock is still up 20% so far this year.