Indian pharma player Laurus Labs expects improvement in EBITDA margins in the coming year, supported by better asset utilisation and productivity gains while continuing new initiatives, the company said in a press statement on April 25, post its Q4 results.
The company's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) fell 15.3 percent to Rs 242 crore in the March quarter, from Rs 285.5 crore reported during the same period last year.
Laurus Labs’ EBITDA for the quarter fell to 16.7 percent, from 20.7 percent for the same period last year.
Growth in FY25 will be driven by leveraging platform capabilities to deliver medium to long-term contracts, and commercial opportunity in late-phase NCE (new chemical entity) projects, and will ride on a positive industry outlook, the statement added.
The company also anticipates a ramp up of growth projects and new assets coming online. The company is also offsetting pricing headwinds in parts of its API portfolio.
Laurus Labs' API business, which comprises more than half the company's topline, delivered 30 percent growth across verticals. Also, the product pipeline benefitted from the global supply chain diversification.
The company added that it is prioritising capex into high-value and growing market segments.
Further, the company expects an improvement in its net debt leverage and working capital in FY25. Net debt for FY24 stood at Rs 2,368 crore, and was used to fund ongoing growth projects.
Laurus Labs' net profit fell 25 percent to Rs 76 crore in the March quarter, from Rs 102 crore reported in the year-ago period. Revenues, however, rose 4 percent to Rs 1,439.67 crore, from Rs 1,380.90 crore in the year-ago period.
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