A MIXED BAG

THE PHARMA AND HEALTHCARE SECTOR PRESENTS A STUDY IN CONTRASTS IN TERMS OF PERFORMANCE, BOTH FINANCIALLY AND IN THE BT500 RANKING BY 

- NEETU CHANDRA SHARMA

THE VANISHING SPECTRE of the pandemic has left in its wake contrasting shadows in different segments of the healthcare space. While hospitals showed strong recovery due to a rise in patient footfalls and surgeries, diagnostics companies’ revenues tanked following declining Covid-19 testing in the past two quarters. And while major pharmaceutical companies are seeing revenues recover, their ranks in the BT500—based on average market capitalisation from October 2021 to September 2022—have mostly fallen below 2021.

For instance, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, India’s largest pharma company, saw its rank slip to 27 this year from 24 in 2021. But its consolidated Q4FY22 revenues grew 10.9 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to ₹9,386 crore. And in Q2FY23, the company recorded double-digit top line growth and strong margins driven by market share gain in India and sustained ramp-up of its global specialty business that grew 27.5 per cent. “We continue to focus on expanding our global specialty business and growing all our businesses,” Dilip Shanghvi, MD of Sun Pharma, told BT in an emailed response.

Similarly, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories’ rank in the BT500 fell from 52 in 2021 to 70 in 2022, despite its strong performance in the past several quarters. In Q2FY23, it reported revenue growth of 11 per cent YoY.