The Company has entered into a definitive MOU for purchase of about 34 acres of industrial land adjacent to its existing manufacturing plant on 16 acres of land at Waluj, Aurangabad, Maharashtra for setting up new production facilities in due course.
Macquarie has downgraded it to neutral from outperform and reduced target price to Rs 1015 versus Rs 1350 per share. It says Ankleshwar facility receiving under import alert may lead to multiples falling under pressure in the near term. However, it remains bullish on the stock for long term.
Anand Rathi's channel checks indicate EIR is in place for two facilities, Waluj and Chikalthana and implies positive step towards resolution of regulatory trends.
Habil Khorakiwala said the US FDA has completed its inspection at the Waluj facility. The US FDA also visited the Chikalthana and Aurangabad plans, he said.
Wockhardt's L1 Chikalthana facility was under import alert for its drug Metoprolol XR used for treating blood pressure, while the Waluj facility that makes injectables and solid dosages was also put under import restrictions by the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) in 2013.
MOUs point to a commitment of Rs 1,510 crores from Volkswagen, Rs 4,000 crores from Tata Motors, Rs 4,000 crores from M&M, and Rs 2,000 crores from Bajaj Auto
During the October-December quarter, its net profit slumped to Rs 304 crore from Rs 428 crore a year earlier. Total sales dropped 14 percent to Rs 1237 crore.
In November, the US Food and Drug Administration issued an import alert, effectively a ban, against Wockhardt's Chikalthana plant in western India. The FDA had imposed a ban on the company's Waluj plant in May.
The pharma company ran into trouble with US FDA on violation of various norms in its manufacturing units. Its plants in Waluj, Chikalthana and Daman are under scanner.
The US FDA has said that it is concerned about Wockhardt's responses to the health regulator's queries and lab records are not in compliance with established standards. It also added that comany did not take appropriate actions to resolve defects while actual samples were used as 'trial' injections.
Wockhardt's injectible facility in Waluj is under an import ban from the US and the UK drug regulator since May 2013. And the company says it is seeking a meeting with the USFDA & UK regulator MHRA to discuss progress.
Bajaj Auto plans to shift 50 percent of its Pulsar bike production to Waluj plant in Aurangabad if the strike at Chakan plant which entered the 41st day today is not called off by workers.
While the stock valuations still remain supportive, multiples could be under pressure in the near to medium-term, driven by uncertainty around remediation timelines and future approvals, Macquarie says.
The US FDA had earlier imposed an import alert on the company's Waluj plant in Maharashtra in May. UK drug regulator MHRA had this month recalled some medicines from the same plant citing manufacturing deficiencies it had identified.
The company had earlier in May announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) had issued an import alert on its Waluj facility, which makes injectables and solid dosages.
The MHRA says it has identified manufacturing deficiencies at Wockhardt's plant at Waluj in Maharashtra.
The UK drug regulator has issued an import alert on the company's Waluj plant near Aurangabad, which makes injectables and solid dosages. The US Food and Drug Administration had in May issued a similar import alert.
Prakash Agarwal of CIMB expects a 12-15 percent kind of earnings per share (EPS) draw for Wockhardt; there could be future downsides apart from existing facilities.