Ladies and gentlemen, good day and welcome to JB Pharma's Q3 FY23 Earnings Conference Call as on the 9th of February 2023. As a reminder, all participant lines will be in the listen-only mode, and there will be an opportunity for you to ask questions after the presentation concludes. Should you need assistance during the conference call, please signal an operator by pressing star then zero on your touchtone phone. Please note that this conference is being recorded. I now hand the conference over to Mr. Jason D'Souza, Vice President at JB Pharma. Thank you. Over to you, sir.
Thank you, Aman. Welcome to the Q3 earnings call of JB Pharma. We have with us today Nikhil Chopra, CEO and Whole-Time Director, Mr. Kunal Khanna, President, Operations, and Mr. Lakshay Kataria, Chief Financial Officer. Before we begin, I would like to state that some of the statements in today's discussion may be forward-looking in nature and may involve certain risks and uncertainties. A detailed statement in this regard is available on the Q3 FY23 results presentation that has been sent to you earlier. I would like to hand over the floor to Mr. Nikhil Chopra to begin the proceedings of the call for his opening remarks, and after that Mr. Lakshay Kataria will address the financial highlights. Over to you, sir.
Thank you, Jason, good afternoon to everyone for joining us on our conference call planned to discuss the performance during Q3 FY 2023. I shall commence with the remarks on the performance and provide updates on the business. I will be followed by our CFO, Lakshay Kataria, who will address the financial perspectives to you. After our remarks, we'll take the queries from the participants. Friends, I'm glad to share a solid performance backed up by expansion in both our domestic and international businesses. In Q3 FY 2023, we saw 32% increase in our revenues at INR 793 crores. The domestic market saw market-beating growth trends prevailing during the quarter with improvement of 42% year-on-year witnessed in revenue at INR 407 crores. Organic growth came in at mid-teens with JB leading the industry on the growth part.
As per IQVIA data, we have emerged as the fastest-growing company in top 25 in year 2022. Thus, for the second consecutive calendar year, we have been the fastest-growing company in the industry in top 25. In the acquired portfolio, we have witnessed similar growth trends. We have shown 34% growth in Q3 FY23 as per IQVIA data on like-to-like basis. The probiotic range continued to perform well, and Sporlac witnessed good growth rates and is now ranked at 361. Azmarda, which is creating a niche for itself in the cardiac segment, saw 50% growth in the quarter. As per May-December 2022 data, Azmarda appeared in IPM in top 300 list as well, ranking at 270. The traction in this brand is healthy, and we continue to back the brand with the revamped go-to-market model.
We have announced a price reduction of 50% in Azmarda in December and are already beginning to see a good volume uptake post the price reduction. We have put in place a cost-effective sourcing model for Azmarda, which will focus on delivering high-quality product to the patients. Also, wanted to share the competitive intensity has significantly increased in the market for the sacubitril/valsartan combinations. The quarter marked the acquisition of Razel, that is Rosuvastatin range, formalizing our entry into the statin market, which is the largest segment within the cardiology segment. Razel ranks among the top 10 brands in Rosuvastatin molecule category, whereas Rosuvastatin and its combination have delivered 3-year sales CAGR of 14% as per IQVIA data.
We are thus present in three major segments in cardiology segments, namely antihypertensive, which is where we lead with our brands, Cilacar and Nicardia, heart failure, where we have Azmarda created a strong niche for itself, and now statins, where we have recently acquired Razel. The combination of being present in all these segments has captured us into top 10 companies by sales in cardiology as per IQVIA May-December 2022. I am also proud and happy to share with all of you that we are the fastest growing company in cardiology segment among the top 10 players as per IQVIA May-December 2022. This is indeed an achievement considering the space is dominated by large pharma companies. Moving on to our international business. Our international business recorded good performance overall.
The business saw momentum continuing in each of the segments, whether it is CDMO business which delivered a robust set of numbers with revenues growing at 92% during the quarter, Q3 FY 2023, and we once again could achieve INR 100 crore revenue for our CDMO business. New launches in specific markets are showing good progress. Export formulations delivered the highest ever sales during the quarter. Rest of the world and U.S. market saw marked improvement in sales. Russia and CIS countries also witnessed enhanced traction on the revenues. In South Africa, our public business is witnessing some competitive pressures. Given the prevailing geopolitical scenarios and economic uncertainty, we expect to witness some impact on the demand in South Africa market. I shall draw your attention now towards the outlook of the business for the coming quarters.
In domestic business, we are aiming to grow ahead of market. That is what we have been guiding since last six to eight quarters. This will be based on growth in our selected brands, where we are leaders in the respective categories, and continued traction in our portfolio of acquired brands. In line with our revised go-to-market strategy, we are building in higher productivities of our MR teams on the ground. The outcomes are being tracked through high momentum in prescriptions. What we have been talking in our earlier commentary, our new product contribution is also now close to 5% for the quarter, which is inching up as compared to when we started our journey in this in October 2020, the contribution was only 1.5%.
This all shows overall the strength now what JB enjoys in the market with the healthcare professionals, particularly for the new progressive portfolio. In our international business, we are sharp focused on driving the right market mix in our portfolio of offerings. Demand from ex-export formulations, especially the RoW business, remains good. I thus come to the end of my note and would like to invite our CFO, Mr. Lakshay Kataria, to share his views on the financial perspective. Over to you, Lakshay. Thank you all for patiently hearing.
Thank you. Thanks, Nikhil. A very good afternoon to all of you. Welcome to our earnings call. I will now take you through the financial highlights of quarter three 2023. The revenue for the quarter was at INR 793 crores, an overall growth of 32% over same quarter in 2022. The mix of domestic and international business stood at 51%-49%. Our domestic business reported a revenue of INR 407 crores, a year-on-year growth of 42%. Organically, the business saw growth in mid-teens. Our international business saw 23% growth year-on-year and another quarter of INR 385 crores of revenue. Performance in this business was particularly supported by international formulations and CMO business, along with strong performance in our pressure operations.
Gross margins at 62.3% for the quarter, pretty much closer to where we were last quarter and compared to 65% in the last financial year. The margin saw an impact of cost inflation and higher Azmarda sales during the quarter. During the quarter, we delivered an operating EBITDA before ESOP cost of INR 193 crores. We saw a growth of 26% year-on-year. Margins came in at 24.3% versus 25.5% in the same quarter last year. During the quarter, other expenses as a percentage of sales improved versus last year to 22.8% vis-à-vis 24.5% last year. As you would have seen, the depreciation during the quarter was higher, as it includes the amortization charge of INR 11 crores towards acquired brands.
The amortization number will move up marginally due to acquisition of Razel franchise towards end of quarter three. Profit after tax was at INR 106 crores, which increased by 26% year-on-year. Quickly covering the cash part. As of 31st December, we had a debt of INR 571 crores and cash and investments to the tune of INR 142 crores. This debt is after funding acquisitions of the Razel franchise. Our operating cash flows continue to be strong. In the recently concluded board meeting, we declared an interim dividend of eight and a half per share. Overall, we continue to remain optimistic about the business, and we see operating leverage increasing for the business as we move forward. With this, I now request the moderator to please open the forum for discussion and questions. Thank you.
Thank you very much. We will now begin the Q&A session. Participants, to ask a question, please press star one on your touch-tone telephone. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may press star two. Participants are requested to use handsets while asking a question. Ladies and gentlemen, we will wait for a moment while the question queue assembles. Anyone who wish to ask a question may please press star and one at this time. First question is from the line of Rashmi Shetty from Dolat Capital. Please go ahead.
Yeah, thanks for the opportunity. First question on debt. This Razel acquisition amount has been completely funded by debt or it is partly funded by debt? If you can give that number. What is the cost of debt also?
As far as Razel is concerned, we took a further loan of INR 250 crores towards this acquisition. The balance was funded roughly about INR 130 crores was funded through, you know, internal accruals. This is the total cost with all the applicable taxes and, you know, working capital. In terms of cost, it's closer to 8.5%.
Okay. Now what will be the blended cost of debt for your overall debt that is INR 573 crores?
It'll be closer to 8.1%, 8.2%.
Okay, sir. sir, on CMO segment, you know, this quarter also we have seen good run rate. this year probably we'll be ending with a very high base in the CMO segment. from FY 2024 and 2025, how should we look at this business? is it that INR 70-80 crores per quarter, you know, CMO business would continue to give this kind of base? you feel that on the higher base we should expect a decline or a lower growth on this piece of the business?
Rashmi, this is Nikhil Chopra. Fortunately, we were able to take care of the demand, particularly in the world of cough and cold lozenges, which has happened this year. Overall for quarter four also the order book is healthy. Going ahead, the dialogue that we have been having with our partners is we should expect moderate growth, probably for next year. Next to next year there is lot of developmental program which is happening in the world of CDMO, particularly for lozenges, where the intention is to add new partners and also widen our portfolio. Today our major portfolio is in the world of cough and cold. We have developed some new proof of concept which I've been talking, and that should see some daylight probably eight to 10 months to 12 months from here.
Particularly in the world of sleep disorders, motion sickness, oral thrush, all those lozenges, we have developed the proof of concept, and we have shared those with our partners. These all programs that we are working with our partners takes its own time. It has got its own gestation period. The short answer is we should expect moderate growth next year and going ahead. We are very much aspirational in this part of the business. This business today is contributing 12% to our revenue. Going ahead probably three years from here, this business should contribute 20% to our revenue.
You know, we have become large in terms of the cardiology therapy. Could you give, you know, your top three therapy preference, you know, which you want to make it big for your domestic business and their current contribution, you know, towards the nine months of FY 2023?
We don't share and we don't measure in terms of contribution from therapy. Just to share with you, we are a dominant player in the world of cardiology. Cilacar being a big brand, close to INR 100 crores. Nicardia being a big brand and close to INR 150 crores as reported in IMS. Now with our venturing into the world of heart failure, getting into the world of statins. Overall, if I have to talk about the chronic market share, chronic contribution of today to India business is close to 50%. The intention is how do we improve this chronic contribution to India business close to 60%? That is short to midterm.
Okay. Sir, how has this Metrogyl and Rantac has done during the quarter in terms of growth?
Metrogyl overall it is more a seasonal product. If you look at with summers coming in, I think March onwards we will see the demand ramping up. Overall from a volume perspective, both the products are flat in terms of what we have achieved in last six months. I think March onwards, March to July, August is the season where we see good traction for Rantac and Metrogyl.
Okay. Okay. Thank you, sir. That's it from my side.
Thank you. Any participants who wish to ask a question at this time, they may please press star and one. The next question is from the line of Sriraam Rathi from BNP Paribas. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Thanks for the opportunity and congratulations on good set of numbers. Two questions, one on India. I mean, in Azmarda we took the price cut. I mean, so is it fair to assume that the Azmarda sales could have been significantly higher this quarter versus in the normal scenario? Because I'm particularly I'm asking this question because in Q3 is considered to be seasonally weak quarter in terms of revenue, absolute amount. We have been able to do still more than INR 20 crores this quarter also.
Sriraam, sorry to interrupt. There's some disturbance on your line. Please use the handset.
Yeah. Is it better now?
Yeah, better.
Yeah. Yes, sir. My question was on India business.
Yeah.
We took price cut in Azmarda. Is it fair to assume that the contribution of Azmarda would have been significantly higher this quarter versus in the normal scenario?
Sriraam, Kunal this side. The price cut has been taken effective January, right? We are talking about Q3 numbers which is reflective of pretty much the same scenario which existed when we actually took the Azmarda brand from the innovator partner. You really don't see any price cut impact for Azmarda in Q3. What you clearly see is a significant growth, which Nikhil added in his commentary, where we have actually been able to double the volumes and the value at the same price since the time we took this brand from Novartis.
Right. Right. Yeah, that's helpful. Secondly, a related question on the gross margin. The gross margin in 9 months has been lower because of inflationary pressure on the cost as well as the higher sales of Azmarda. Going forward, how should we look at it? Historically we used to be around 65% gross margin business, and now we are at 63%. How should we look at this number going forward?
You know, when you look at our gross margin trends, they are not very different from the industry, given the inflationary environment. You know, there is a product mix impact largely stemming from Azmarda. Of late, very recently, we do see the intermediate costs from China easing out a bit, and hopefully the situation in Europe should also improve going forward. With the local sourcing of Azmarda already being activated, we see our gross margin profile inching upwards, towards 64% and onwards, moving ahead.
Okay, perfect. Thank you so much.
Thank you. The next question is on the line of Shrikant Akolkar from Asian Markets Securities. Please go ahead.
Hi, good afternoon. Thanks for the opportunity. Congrats on the good set of numbers. Two questions. First question is on the U.S. Business. If you can talk about what has changed for us in the U.S. business in the ongoing quarter? The second question is if you can talk about the kind of synergies that exist between our chronic products, which is Cilacar, Azmarda, Nicardia, and the recently acquired Rosuvastatin franchise? Thank you.
US business, conceptually, if you see the overall track over last three, four years, quarter- to- quarter three is a good quarter. That is what things are there. In terms of we as a company today have 15 ANDAs, and the biggest product being Glipizide. That is giving us the benefit in terms of the revenues that we are generating for U.S. b usiness. This was in line with what we had planned for the year. That is where we stand for U.S. business. Equally, if you are asking about what is happening in the world of chronic synergy of this brand, what I shared earlier now, when we started our journey, we were 13th ranked company in cardiology. That is with Cilacar and Nicardia.
When we acquired Azmarda heart failure pill, we were 11th ranked company. With result coming in, today we are eighth ranked company, and we are the fastest growing company in the world of cardiology in top 10. Lot of synergy built up in terms of cardiologists, physicians, nephrologists. These are very close specialty where JB has strong foothold. With widening our portfolio, I think this gives us benefit in terms of how we can closely work with all these three specialty and help more and more patients in terms of getting right diagnosis. That is the intention. Early-stage diagnosis. Just to also share with you, with the heart failure pill, Azmarda, that we have launched, JB is the only company which is running 200+ heart failure clinics.
The intention is, how do we get more and more patients of heart failure in stage one and stage two get diagnosed with the help of 2D and 3D echo, which is, which is a marker of measuring the patient's severity of heart failure. All these initiatives have been put in place. A lot of consumer campaigns with the help of healthcare professionals we have been running for in the world of hypertension because of the burden of the disease being so high. Close to 100 million people suffer from hypertension in the country, and one in four hypertensive patient is undiagnosed. Lot of those emphasis we are giving in building the ecosystem, influencing the ecosystem in collaboration with the healthcare professionals.
This is what we are trying to do and strengthen our place in the world of chronic, particularly in the world of cardiology.
Okay. Just one, follow-up on the U.S. business. How should I look at the next year from the U.S. revenue or pricing erosion sort of perspective?
you know, just to add to what Nikhil mentioned, you know, we have always maintained for us, it's, basically, you know, as far as U.S. is concerned, we'll be looking at, very limited set of product opportunities. The good part is the R&D journey which we started, in the last, four to five months, we have had three new filings, right. These filings have a, you know, approval timeline of close to 12 - 18 months. As we continue to organically scale up our business with OROS technology and platform, the recent filings which we have done should, ideally be commercially, available for the markets, 12 to 18 months from here on.
The last approval that we got was in the form of venlafaxine. That was NDA which we got approved. What I think has been spoken in the world of U.S. business, see, we are a very small fish in a big pond. We conceptually are working in accord to our strengths in terms of the products that we manufacture based on the technology backup that we have got, be it extended release, modified release. That is a technology that JB owns. That is a dialogue that we continuously have with our partners in U.S., and that is how they help us to distribute the product, and that is how we do the business in U.S. It's a cost plus model.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Alok Dalal from Jefferies India Private Limited. Please go ahead.
Hi, good afternoon. Nikhil, a quick question on cardiac and diabetes market from IPM perspective. We have been seeing a remarkable slowdown in growth rate for cardiac and diabetes. Apart from some of the big brands going off patent and reducing the overall value side, are there some other trend changes that you are seeing in the market on the ground?
Not really, actually. You know, the slowdown is attributed to a few things which are not completely volume-based, right? There have been big molecules and big brands which have been subject to price pressure, which has led to a slowdown in the recent past. With respect to offtake of the molecules, patient adoption, the compliant compliance rates, systemically, there is nothing really changing in the market. Yes, there are certain molecule categories where the combinations and the FDCs are doing much better than the single molecules, because the doctors see patients who are already there with comorbid conditions. Also with respect to Indian market, cost of therapy, is a very, very important parameter. You may see trends that some of the single large molecules are being substituted by FDCs.
You know, from an adoption, compliance, prescription perspective, there is systemically nothing really changing. Some of the insulins, the large, you know, product insulins which were there in the market historically, with large market share, have been subject to price pressure, which are reflected in the overall, slightly, you know, muted growth in the overall therapy area.
Okay. Firstly, no change in prescription trends as such, in the market?
No, there is no change in prescription trend. The prescriptions continue to increase. In fact, for most of the product categories, you know, in our basket, what we have seen is that the prescription numbers are actually surpassed the pre-COVID levels as well, you know, which clearly indicate that, you know, the prescription practicing pattern is all pretty much inching towards normal steady-state levels. Quite honestly, some of the feedback which we have got from patient perspective, the research work, the patient compliance has improved significantly in the market, so there is nothing really systemically changing out there.
Okay. Thank you. Second question is on the company. Company has last two, 3 years undergone a significant change. You bridged the portfolio gaps through acquisitions. Do you think now the low-hanging fruits are kind of done and, say, when you want to reach a 50/50 chronic/acute mix, what else the company needs to do to achieve that target?
What I shared in my earlier context setting is, or if you look at what we have built organically, what we have acquired, probably gives us confidence in terms of how we can improve the chronic contribution towards India business. Beside the brands outside the chronic space, there are lot of opportunities in the area of pediatrics, respiratory, GI, antibiotics, where we are confident enough in terms of wherever we are present, we want to look at how do we go more in the depth and improve our penetration in terms of prescription. By the way, we may be 22nd, 23rd rank company in terms of value, but from a prescription perspective, we are 15th rank company. In the area of probiotic that we have acquired. It's a huge opportunity. Probiotic being a INR 2,000 crore market.
We are the fifth-largest player with 7.5% market share. We are looking at opportunity why not to double our market share, because we have got a good brand in terms of Sporlac. We have the fundamental work of lifecycle management getting into women health Sporlac, pediatrics Sporlac versions, all those things. We see opportunity in terms of the portfolio that we have got today in our hand.
Okay. Nikhil, no plans to enter any new therapies? just, bridge portfolio gaps within existing, therapy area?
Yes, absolutely right.
Okay. Okay, thank you, and all the best.
Thank you. A reminder to our participants, please press star and one to ask a question. The next question is from the line of Abdul kader Puranwala from Elara Capital. Please go ahead.
Yeah, hi sir. Thank you for the opportunity. My first question was on the price cut what we took on Azmarda. Is this what we had already planned or this was largely because of the competitive pressure that we had to? Secondly, you know, when we talk about some gross margin improvement to happen from next quarter onwards, because of the sourcing. I mean, how should we look at the gross margins? I mean, we guided close to 64%, but, you know, with the kind of sales volume we are witnessing currently, would there be any risk to the margin guidance what you have provided?
We'll take the first question, you know, in terms of the price cut. See, when we actually looked at this acquisition, we were very certain that there is going to be price erosion in the market, and we were quite prepared in terms of at what price we'll be kind of positioning our product, at what price point. We continue to maintain, you know, that price point. The scenario for us has not changed from what we initially kind of emphasized in terms of how the market will shape up. For all the similar molecules and brands where such LOE has happened, you do see that eventually it's the innovator and the innovator partners who pretty much hold significant majority market share.
For us also, we believe that that's how the market is going to shape up. In fact, the first month, post-LOE gives us good confidence that, you know, we are on the right path of increasing volumes, even if it comes at the cost of price erosion by making the product much more affordable. You know, in the first month itself, we have seen a volume uptake of closer to 1.25-1.3 times than what we used to do pre LOE scenario. Coming to the point of, you know, how the margin profile will... Or how the margin, local sourcing of Azmarda will change the overall gross margin profile, we don't want to comment on product-specific margin and its impact on our overall gross margin profile.
You know, the overall, key elements which will play out, which we believe, you know, the recent trends with China opening up, some prices easing up, and if the overall situation in Europe further eases out going forward, then there is no reason not to believe that we'll be closer to 64%. Yeah.
Sure. Got it.
In terms of cross margins, this will sort of build more towards Q1 and after that. I think Q4 pretty much will be, you know, similar ranges, maybe.
Yeah, because we are still in the transition.
The transitionary quarter.
Quarter.
Understood. Understood. My second question is on the CDMO business, where we earlier spoken about, you know, the revenue contribution increasing from 12%- 30%. Sir, are we indicating that the M&A focus would, you know, shift from India to this line of business? Or this would be entirely achievable through the capacities what we have created so far?
Yeah. I think there are no plans of getting into M&A in the world of CDMO. What I shared was the contribution going from 12% - 20%, not 30%.
Okay.
Overall, there are two core strategy. One is the entire journey that we have started to work in the world of CDMO is to add new partners. There, as and when the progress happen, we'll be more than happy to share. Second, what I shared earlier was some new products within the world of lozenges what we have developed should help us probably in this journey, which is beyond the world of cough and cold, where there are continuous dialogues with our partners in terms of what do they want in the form of lozenges in their markets. That is what we...
This entire buildup will be organic, and Jesu (uncertain) will also share with the teams, is the capacity that we have in terms of lozenges that we can manufacture is around close to 2.5 billion. This year we'll be selling close to 1.1 billion lozenges. Capacity is not an issue. Capability we have. Good partners we have got. This is the journey that we would like to travel mid to long term in the world of CDMO business.
Got it, sir. Thank you and wish you all the best.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Aartie Rao from Anand Rathi. Please go ahead.
Yeah. I had a question regarding Sanzyme. How would have that been growing for nine months? How do we expect it to grow going for the next two years? Because I believe probiotic segment would be growing at 12%-14%. Are we doing better than that, or how do we see that?
This entire Sanzyme business is a part of three segments. First is probiotic.
Mm-hmm.
Second is women health, and third is infertility portfolio. Particularly in the world of probiotic, the market has been growing at 12%-14%, and our growth that we have demonstrated for last two quarters is 20%+. This has happened because of three, four reasons. Overall, when we acquired this asset, this asset overall was under-penetrated, underrepresented. Now, coming from the JB house, we have improved the penetration, we have improved our presence. Secondly, the synergies that we got in terms of the prescription, because generally a probiotic is being prescribed with a antibiotic for antibiotic-induced diarrhea, in the world of IBS from gastroenterologist. So that is where JB had a strong foothold. Third is the lifecycle management that we have done. We have launched couple of more versions of Sporlac.
That is Sporlac GG for pediatrics and Sporlac EVA for women health. This all is helping us in terms of outscoring the market and delivering better performance in the world of probiotic. Equally, there are steps that we have taken in terms of how do we improve our performance in the world of women health and infertility portfolio.
Okay. I think, I believe, sir, there was some 320 MRs coming from Sanzyme. I mean, what's the total MR that we have, and how much of that is kept for Sanzyme?
You are absolutely right. There are 300 plus people who came from Sanzyme. Today the MR strength for JB on the ground is close to 2,500.
2,500. How do we see this MR productivity, I mean, particularly for Sanzyme growing ahead in future? I mean, I believe it'll be 3 million per MR per year, if I'm not wrong, if I just go by the numbers.
Which is, I think it is better than INR 3 million. It is, I think, close to INR 3.5 million, if I'm not wrong.
Okay. Okay.
Now growing at a pace of around 20%. If you look at the productivity that JB as a company now, what we are enjoying is close to INR 6.5 million, that is INR 6.5 lakhs. There's a huge scope in terms of how do we come at par. With the way we are growing at 20%+, and with the expansion in portfolio that we are doing, there is no need that we want to add people, but to penetrate better, widen our portfolio.
Meet the same set of doctors, be in the field of infertility, be in the world of mass and class probiotic, be in the world of gynecologist. That overall will help us in terms of how do we enhance the productivity in the world of Centurion.
Okay. Sir, if I may ask the last question. Given that Ranitidine is now out of NLM, we used to have, like, 30% plus kind of exposure on a company level. How much can that possibly come down to probably 20% is something I've been estimating.
Our current exposure to NLM portfolio is closer to 12%-13%.
Right. Okay. Thanks a lot. That's it from my side.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Cyndrella Carvalho from JM Financial Limited. Please go ahead.
Thanks for the opportunity. Any color that we can provide on Russia and the RoW business that we have and what kind of growth estimate should we work with for the coming year?
Overall, the good thing is that our international business, even outside CMO, has kind of trended very well, in terms of, if you see the Q3 performance. As Nikhil mentioned further, if we really dissect this business, the two to three key parts are rest of the world, South Africa, as well as Russia. Russia we saw very good demand coming from the cough and cold segment, which is pretty much, you know, reflective in our international business growing. Our overall RoW markets have also rebounded well, as we see the order book position, we are quite confident of maintaining that trajectory. South Africa will be, you know, there is possibly some level of moderation which we are seeing more on the public side.
As the next two quarters progress, we'll have further form of visibility of how the, you know, the mix of public and private portfolio will kind of stack up. We are still looking at... despite all this, we are still looking at closer to a double-digit, you know, kind of growth for our international business.
Just to share one more point in terms of our BGx market in the world of RoW, which is, which happens in four clusters. That is Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Middle East. You should see us launching some progressive portfolio in second part of next year, that is H2, because this part of the world was being denied new launches.
The teams have been working in R&D in terms of identifying the right portfolio. This overall business model is distributor-led, where we have been talking to the regulatory bodies of that part of the world. With the product development that we have done, you should see us doing BE filings. As and when things progresses, we'll be more than happy to share.
That's helpful. In one clarification, you mentioned the CDMO contribution from 8%-20%. Is that 20% for FY24 or what's the timeline?
This is essentially our long-term aspiration. When we look at the contribution coming in from CDMO and, you know, it inching up to closer to 20%, it's a long-term three-year, you know, three to five-year time period which we are looking at.
Okay. In terms of all the cost efficiencies that we were talking about, considering, majority of the acquisitions and synergies that you have already spoken on the call, how should we see this going ahead in FY24?
See, there are certain areas where we have got operating leverage and cost synergies on day one. you know, particularly when we acquired the pediatric, you know, portfolio or for example even when we are looking at the Razel acquisition. Because there is no real need for us to add incremental feet on street. You know, cost synergies for those have been kind of already been realized. Our main focus is, you know, to drive these brands which we have acquired, right? You know, some of them were underinvested. If you take an example of Sanzyme's Sporlac, you see what we have done with the pediatric portfolio, Azmarda portfolio.
Our main focus and thrust is how do we keep on improving, increasing our market share, get more, top-line synergies and revenues, which will further kind of help us drive better operating, you know, leverage. That's the way we are looking at our acquisition.
In terms of, further synergy or overall cost efficiencies that we have been working on, we should be able to see some more benefits coming in in FY 2024 as well, as we have seen so far?
Certainly, yes. You know there is always an area for improvement as far as cost synergies go, be it on the front-end side or the back-end side, right? The fact that we are not kind of committing to any significant feet on street addition. Yes, there'll be certain marginal pockets, you know, territories, but the fact that we are not committing to significant, you know, go-to-market, you know, addition of numbers, we will certainly see more synergies and benefits coming up.
If I may ask my last question. On the women's health side, Nikhil was mentioning that, you know, we have a good strategy working. Do we see ourselves, well in place from a WHO, category side? Do we still see some gaps there on the women health, which we may need to address over, coming 12 - 18 months timeframe? What are we thinking?
Our main strength on the women health portfolio is basically reproductive health or IVF portfolio. There, you know, we have some very strong relationships with CAM accounts, which we continue to build upon. We don't see ourselves as a company which will be present in every molecule and every subcategory of women health. We want to continue to expand our presence in areas where we play with, which are essentially, reproductive health, IVF portfolio and some hormones category. As long as we are kind of playing and building on our strengths in those categories, you know, and increasing our market share, we'll be kind of pretty much well-placed with respect to our aspirations. We don't aspire to be there in every molecule within women health portfolio.
Thank you so much. That's very helpful.
Thank you. A reminder to our participants, please press star and one to ask a question. The next question is from the line of Alka Katiyar from Centrum Broking. Please go ahead.
No, it already got answered.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Tushar Manudhane from Motilal Oswal Financial Services. Please go ahead.
Thanks for the opportunity. Just to understand, price, volume, new launches, growth for the domestic formulation base business for the quarter without acquisitions?
If you look at market, first of all, the market is flat to negative for volume growth. We are growing at, volume growth is close 4%-5%. Price growth is close to 7%-8%. New introduction contribution is close to 5%.
Got you. In constant currency terms, how much would have been the growth for international formulations over on exports?
In terms of top line, if you look at it, there will be an impact roughly of about INR 20 crores on the revenue, right? What we reported is about 23% growth. That'll come down to about 17%-18% on constant terms.
Just broadly, what could be the gross margin sort of breakdown for domestic formulations and exports?
Sorry, we don't share that number.
Okay. Just lastly, post these acquisitions and the base business, so in terms of tier of cities of presence, as we stand today, if you could just, you know, share that detail?
Sorry, could you come again? Didn't get the question.
In terms of presence, across, let's say, top one, or rather, top Two 2 cities or top three cities, that way, what would be the sort of presence of JB brands?
You're talking about our field force presence across Metro Tier 1, Tier 2 and beyond?
Yes, both on the MR side as well as on the brands.
Where the MRs are present, that's where the brands are present. Essentially, you know, our presence kind of varies depending on the portfolio which we are operating in. For our acute portfolio and especially where we have our mature brands such as Rantac and Metrogyl, our presence is very strong, even in Tier 3 and Tier 4 markets and semi-urban towns. For our chronic portfolio, 70% of our business is essentially coming in from Metro Tier 1 and Tier 2, and remaining 25%-30% comes from, you know, Tier 2 and beyond towns.
Got you, sir. Thanks. That's it from my side.
Thank you. Any participants who wish to ask a question at this time, they may please press star and one. The next question is from the line of Neelam Punjabi from Perpetuity Ventures LLP. Please go ahead.
Yeah, thanks a lot for the opportunity. My first question is on the CMO business. The business has been quite strong for us this year, and we've been sustaining the INR 100 crore quarterly run rate, plus minus 5%. Are we confident of sustaining this kind of numbers for FY 2024, about INR 400 crores annually? How is the order book looking for this business for us?
Neelam, this was, I think, one of your colleague had asked this question. Let me repeat in terms of the way we see. The order book for quarter four looks good. That is point number one. This year our business almost has doubled for the, in the world of CDMO, which doesn't happen in a hurry. This has happened because of the entire upsurge that we saw in the world of anti-inflammatory cough lozenges, particularly in Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Canada. Depending upon the seasonal variability, tomorrow, we'll be able to add more color probably in our next conference call, we may be close to what we are doing today. We have the capability in terms of giving the output.
Today, we are manufacturing close to around 8-9 crore lozenges a month. Long-term agenda, that is what I, what we spoke earlier, probably two to three years from here, you should see us getting into new portfolio of lozenges. That is a long-term plan. In terms of what I shared earlier, sleep disorders, motion sickness, irritable bowel syndrome, some of the new concepts that we have developed. Equally, the business development team is working in terms of adding new partners across geography. That is across geography outside India. Those are the plans that we are putting in place in terms of the way we look at this business.
Sure. That's very helpful. Secondly, my question is on the operating EBITDA margin. Could you please give us a guidance for FY 2024? Are we planning to be in the range of 24%-26% or higher?
In terms of EBITDA margins, our endeavor is to up the level of operating margin next year compared to this year, right? I think we're still sort of working through the plans. This is obviously budget season, so I think probably once we meet in May, I think we'll be able to give you a better sense, but it'll surely be upward from where we are standing this year.
Sure. Okay. Lastly, on the API business, I'm not sure if this was touched upon earlier, but the business is down about 4% YOY, although it's small for us. Could you highlight what were the reasons behind the same?
It's just got to do with some offtake patterns. You know, last year there was a significant uptake for us in Q3. The business, we believe, will end with a moderate growth, but there is no real aberration from, you know, what we see fundamentally in our business. You know, Q4, we expect, you know, the muted offtake which happened in Q3 to cover up for that.
Got it. Okay. That's all from my end. Thank you so much.
Thank you. Next question will be the last question. That is from the line of Yash Sinha from MIPL. Please go ahead.
Yeah, hi. I just wanted to understand why the purchase of stock and trade on the balance sheet has more than doubled from the same period year-on-year?
Sorry, could you repeat the question again?
Yeah. I wanted to understand why on the balance sheet, the purchase of stock and trade metric has almost doubled year-on-year?
That is because, you know, this heart failure product that we, you know, acquired this year is largely being acquired on a P2P basis. That's why you're seeing a significant upsurge.
Okay. Okay. Thank you.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, that was the last question for today. I now hand the conference over to Mr. Jason D'Souza for closing comments. Thank you, and over to you.
Thank you. Thank you, Aman. I'd just like to hand over the mic to Nikhil Chopra to say the final remarks.
First of all, thank you, all. Thank you all participants for participating in today's conference call. Closing remarks in terms of what I shared earlier, I think JB continues to deliver performance in terms of market beating and the guidance going ahead is in terms of India business, where we will continue to gain market share in terms of the portfolio that we have organically made, inorganic acquisitions that we have done, and equally the new products that we have launched. This will help us to deliver market-beating performance, maybe close to mid-teen growth. That is what. That is where we see ourself positioned. International market, if I have to comment, overall, the way we see volatility, opportunities, probably our goal should be close to low double digit.
That is where we see ourselves in the coming time. As Lakshay shared in terms of EBITDA margin guidance, I think, we should be better placed for the coming year in terms of inching up as compared to where we stand in terms of operating EBITDA margin. That is what is the closing remark from my end. Once again, thank you, all, and we'll be more than happy to share the proceedings and the development happening in the company, as we have been doing regularly. Thank you. Thank you, all.
Thank you very much. Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of JB Pharma, that concludes this conference. Thank you all for joining us, and you may now disconnect your lines.