Ladies and gentlemen, good day and welcome to the JB Pharma's Q4 FY2025 earnings conference call ahead on 15th of May 2025. As a reminder, all participant lines will remain 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 the operator by pressing star, then zero on your touchstone telephone. Please note that this conference is being recorded. I now hand the conference over to Mr. Jason D'souza, Executive Vice President of JB Pharma. Please go ahead, sir.
Thank you, Ryan. Welcome to the Q4 earnings call of JB Pharma. We have with us today Mr. Nikhil Chopra, CEO and Whole-Time Director; Mr. Kunal Khanna, President Operations; and Mr. Narayan Saraf, the CFO at JB Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals. 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 in the Q4 FY2025 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 and for his opening remarks.
Thank you, Jason, and a very warm welcome to all of you. Thank you all for being with us today. I will comment with the perspective on our quarter four performance. FY2024 is yet another year when JB has maintained strong operating momentum. JB continued being one of the fastest-growing domestic businesses in India as per IPM, as per Indian pharma market. During quarter four, revenues saw a rise of 10% to INR 949 crores, while operating EBITDA expanded by 15% to INR 240 crores, underscoring efficiency and execution strength. Net profit notably improved by 15% to INR 146 crores, reflecting improved margins and disciplined cost management. This performance has been underlined by the growth in India branded formulations, our CDMO platform, and carefully chosen international markets that align with our strengths. Our gross margin [Chimming at] 66.1% during quarter four, marking an improvement over the previous year.
Our operating EBITDA stood at 25.3%, representing an increase of 90 basis points. I will share some views on our domestic business. The domestic business reported a growth of 11% year-on-year to INR 519 crore in quarter four 2025. As per IQVIA, we have delivered 13% year-on-year growth in the quarter as compared to 7% growth for the industry. As per IQVIA, our chronic portfolio showed 16% year-on-year improvement in quarter four 2025, whereas acute portfolio increased by 10%, and our opt-health business recorded a growth of 22% to INR 56 crore in quarter four 2025. These are all IMS figures. Clearly, we believe that we have one of the best, one of the most progressive domestic formulation business, which has been demonstrated by our business consistently outpacing industry growth for the last five years now.
We have also done well on the prescription front with our prescriptions, growing at 17% CAGR over the last four years. We now cover around 350,000 doctors across specialties. Interestingly, the majority of our portfolio is in fast-growing segments, leading to growth prospects. Around 75% of our business is generated from the segments that are progressive and growing faster than the IPM. As we have been sharing in the earlier commentary also, our chronic mix continues to improve, and our chronic business is growing significantly faster at a growth rate of 18% as compared to IPM chronic growth, which is at 10%, as per IQVIA MET March 25 data. In the cardiac segment, we have moved five ranks and now are ranked number eight in this therapy. Also, we have three brands among the top 20 brands in cardiovascular therapy.
Through emphasis on building and scaling brands, we have consistently placed higher within the IPM on the growth. We have now six brands among the top 300 brands in the country, with Sporolac being the new entry in the top 300 brands in the IPM. Around four years back, we had eight brands whose revenue was more than INR 20 crore. Currently, we have 25 brands whose revenue is more than INR 20 crore annually, and six brands where the revenue is more than INR 100 crore annually. We have shown a sustained improvement in the field force productivity, which now stands at INR 800,000 PCPM as compared to INR 460,000 in FY2021. All our acquisitions have integrated well and helped strengthen our position in the industry. The Sporolac franchise has risen from INR 690 million to INR 1,340 million as per IQVIA MAT 25 data in the last three years.
Azmara, that is sacubitril-valsartan, is now INR 70 crores, and the sacubitril-valsartan market is expected to grow at around 15%-20% over the next 10-15 years. The Razel franchise now is 99 crores in two years, which was 67 crores two years ago. Moving to our international operations, quarter four saw a high single-digit growth at 9% to INR 430 crores for our international operations, with CDMO business driving the entire growth. CDMO grew at 18% at a revenue of INR 129 crores for the quarter. Our position as one of the top five global CDMO players in Los Angeles reflects the strength of our capabilities and deep relationships with our market clients. We saw 6% improvement in our international formulations, that is, branded generics business to INR 282 crores, backed up by double-digit growth in Russia and branded generics exports.
Going forward, I see our international business gaining further momentum through new product launches, geographical expansion, and a more focused CDMO strategy. Our ability to co-create with our global partners supported by world-class infrastructure and R&D capabilities positions us well to drive sustained high-quality growth in this segment. As we look ahead, I remain confident in our ability to sustain growth across our core businesses. In India, our focus will be on scaling our larger brands, deepening our prescription share in recently acquired portfolio, and further strengthening our presence in chronic therapy. We expect India and CDMO businesses to contribute 75%-80% to overall revenues in the medium term. The India and the CDMO businesses are high ROCE and high operating margins, which will further enhance the profitability of the organization.
At the same time, we remain committed to delivering profitability, and we are raising our operating margin guidance for the third year in a row. EBITDA margins will be in the range of 27%-29%. Once again, I will repeat, we are raising our operating EBITDA guidance for the third year in a row, and our EBITDA margin guidance is now 27%-29%. Underpinning all of this is our continued emphasis on the growth through planned execution. That brings me to the close of my opening script. I would now like to hand over to our Commissioner, Narayan, to share his views. Over to you, Narayan. Thank you.
Thank you, Nikhil. A very good afternoon to everyone joining us on our earnings call. Let me take you through the key financial highlights of Q4 and FY2025. For the quarter, we reported revenue of INR 949 crores, reflecting a year-on-year growth of 10%. The revenue mix stood at 55% domestic and 45% international. Our domestic business contributed INR 519 crores, registering a year-on-year growth of 11% in Q4. The international business delivered year-on-year growth of 9%, with revenues at INR 430 crores. Our gross profit margin stood at 66.1%, with a 90 basis points expansion, which is despite the in-license ophthalmology portfolio. Operating EBITDA, excluding resource expenses, came in at INR 240 crores, marking a year-on-year increase of 15%. The operating EBITDA margin expanded by 90 basis points to 25.3% in Q4 FY2025.
On the cost front, other expenditure as a percentage of sales reduced to 23.7% by 80 basis points. We continue to maintain agility in enhancing operational efficiencies and managing expenses effectively. Finance costs saw a significant decline, coming down from INR 9 crore in Q4 FY2024 to INR 1 crore in Q4 FY2025, mainly due to reduction in the gross debt. Net profit increased by 15% to INR 146 crore. Now, on the financial year 2025, revenue grew 12% to INR 3,918 crore, with domestic to international business mix at 58% to 42%. The domestic business witnessed 20% growth, and as per IQVIA MET March 2025 data, JB grew 12% versus IPM growth of 8%. On the international business, it saw 4% growth to INR 1,649 crore. In international formulations, Russia and branded generic export business witnessed double-digit growth.
CDMO saw 3% growth, however, saw strong recovery in the second half of the year. Gross profit for the full year stood at 56.4%, expanding by 30 basis points. Excluding ophthalmology portfolio, margins increased by 130 basis points. Margins improved mainly due to a favorable product and business mix supported by ongoing cost optimization efforts. On costs, non-cash ESOPs were at INR 55 crores versus INR 42 crores. Depreciation increased from INR 138 crores in FY2024 to INR 171 crores in FY2025 due to amortization of acquired and in-license brands. Therefore, net profit increased by 19% to INR 660 crores. JB Pharma's operating cash flow in FY2025 was reported at INR 903 crores versus INR 801 crores in the previous year. In the pharma industry, we have reported one of the highest metrics on operating cash flow to operating EBITDA at 83%.
Now, coming on the balance sheet, ROCE was at 32% versus 27% in FY 2024, while ROE improved to some extent at 19.2% in FY 2025. As of 31st March 2025, net cash was at INR 689 crore versus INR 107 crore in the previous year. For the fiscal year, the board recommended a final dividend of INR 7 per share, resulting in a total dividend of INR 15.50, including the interim dividend of INR 8.50 per share. We remain optimistic about the business outlook, and we are confident in our ability to continue delivering value to all our stakeholders. With that, I conclude my opening remarks, and I now request the moderator to open the forum for the Q&A session. Thank you very much.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star and one on their touchstone telephone. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may press star and two. Participants are requested to use their handsets while asking a question. Ladies and gentlemen, we will wait for a moment while the question queue assembles. The first question comes from the line of sources from BNP Paribas. Please go ahead.
Good afternoon. Thanks for the opportunity to comment on those set of numbers. My first question on India business: can you provide the breakup of India business, techs, ophthalmic in terms of price, volume, and new product launch for the year?
Excluding ophthalmology, domestic business overall growth has been close to 12%, and the volume growth is 6%. Outside that, there is price and close to 1% of NI growth. If you compare this with the market, the market volume growth as reflected externally has been sub 2% with respect to volume.
Also, if you can share some qualitative insights on the chronic portfolio, I think that has significantly outperformed versus the IPM, whereas we are growing by 18% versus the IPM growth of 10%. Can you highlight which of the segments which have outperformed or did not?
Our key brands, like Nikhil mentioned, our flagship brands continue to outpace the market and by a significant margin. Our mainstay chronic brands like Silacar, Silacar T, Nicardia, and Razel have consistently been outperforming the market. If you look at the MAC numbers as externally reflected as well, Silacar's claim for us has grown at 19%, while the market is 16%. This is despite the fact that we continue to inch our market share performance within the Silacar franchise and are slowly graduating towards 60% market share in this particular plain brand. Silacar T, we have grown at 37% compared to market at 25%. Razel for us, even the plain Rosuvastatin carton has grown at 24% versus market 14%. Nicardia, including Nicardia plain as well as XL, has consistently delivered more than 20% growth over the last 12 months.
These have been the mainstays for us and clearly reflected in our outperformance of our chronic portfolio. In addition to that, even if you really look at the Azmara figures and if you really look at the quarterly updates, for Q4 in Azmara, we have clocked 30% growth, whereas the market is growing at 20%. We believe, as Nikhil mentioned in his commentary also, that this particular category will continue to hit mid-teens volume growth in the future.
Thanks. My second question is on your brand, Rantech. I think there has been a news related to the expert panel has recommended to suspend the Rantech. Where do you stand currently? Means that the government has deferred the case to investigate further, or it's a final decision that there will be no ban on the product?
There is no ban on the product. Rantech continues to be made available to the patients, given its very strong clinical efficacy and safety profile. The government has given some instructions in maintaining and manufacturers are kind of closely monitoring the quality. This is something which we have been doing for years and will continue to deliver on that.
Thanks. We will get back to Nikhil.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, if you wish to ask a question, please press star and one. The next question comes from the line of Rashmmi from Dollard Capital. Please go ahead.
Yeah, thanks for the opportunity. Just on the export formulation side, especially in Russia, South Africa, and your other branded generic export market, what kind of new therapies or the products in different categories are we adding? Are we doing the same what we have added in India? I mean, all the products are also getting exported to this branded generic market. What is the strategy which you are playing in this market, and how should we see the growth for the export formulation business, ex your CDMO and API business?
Our international business is contributing around 45%, which includes US, Russia, South Africa, branded generics, and CDMO. Our branded generic business is in four clusters, that is, in Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Middle East. In that part of the world, 50% of that business comes from participation in tenders. What we have been doing for the last three years is filing progressive portfolio, which we have in India, which is a mix of liptins, flourine, products for heart failure, eye drops. Those products will start commercializing early FY2027. That is where we stand. You should see growth for this business when this new product starts commercializing. Last this quarter, the growth was 10% for that VGX business. Probably FY2027 onwards, with the new progressive portfolio, you should see a couple of points more coming in terms of growth.
We should be going around 12% plus.
Okay. So, you're saying that 10% for FY26, and then going ahead, once it ramps up, it should be more than, it should be double-digit in FY27?
Yeah, yes.
Okay. The CDMO segment in the presentation, you said that the order book remains strong in the coming few quarters also. Is it more related to the seasonality factor, or have we added new products or added new geographies over there? What is the guidance you give on this part of the business?
If you look at the growth for CDMO for the quarter, it was 18%. That is what we demonstrated, but that is not the right growth for the year. Our average business that we do in the world of CDMO is around INR 110 crore. That is the number that we have been following. We continue to do business with all our big clients across the globe. What we have shared in our report is, going ahead, the company has been working progressively for the last year on some big market projects, which more details we can talk about in the coming time. What details I can give you is, these projects are some new lozenges which you will see in the world of Europe and United States. You will see some pan-India project that we are running with one of our partners in the world of ORS.
You will see some developments happening in the world of throat spray for cough and cold in many markets across the globe. You should also see iodine-based formulations, maybe in the form of syrup and ointment, which will see the daylight. These are four or five big projects which we will be able to commercialize by the end of the year. Starting next financial year, our run rate that we assume with all these businesses seeing the daylight, which today is ranging around INR 110 crore every quarter, should be around INR 150 crore every quarter.
Okay. You mentioned that you'll be targeting U.S. market. This will be through partnership with the retail chain models, or you will have a partnership with the companies or distributors? What will be the strategy over there?
In CDMO business, we are quite clear that we work with our principal partners, and our principal partners are large consumer companies with global presence. Earlier, we have voiced the kind of clientele profile which we have for our CDMO business. We directly deal with them, and of course, they have an extensive network of distribution channel partners in respective geographies. We will continue to build on the same model.
Okay. Okay. And one last question on your EBITDA margin, 27-29% is the ex ESOP EBITDA margin guidance, right?
Yes, yes.
What will be the ESOP number in FY26 and FY27? Annual number, if you can give.
Yeah. The ESOP number in FY2026 should be in the range of INR 41-46 crore, and FY2027 will be INR 26 crore. In totality, now the ESOP cost that we are left with is around INR 75 crore, which should be charged over the next two to two and a half years.
Okay. Thank you so much.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, if you wish to ask a question, please press star and one. The next question comes from the line of Sumit Gupta from Centrum Broking. Please go ahead.
Hi. Good afternoon. I'm audible.
Yes.
Yes. Hi. Thanks for taking my question. First, we'll go to the direct formulation segment. So far, on the RMDA, how much sales for the quarter, and what is the run rate of units per month, and how do you see the volume going forward?
As we mentioned last time, we were targeting a run rate of close to 125,000-130,000 units per month. We are pleased to inform that we have been able to maintain that run rate. By the end of H1, in the next quarter, we should be targeting a run rate of close to 140,000 units plus, and we will continue to build on that.
Okay. So, sales for this quarter was around INR 70 crore or INR 75 crore?
For Azmara for the quarter?
For Azmara. Yes, yes, for Azmara.
When we talk about INR 70 crore, that's the annualized run rate for Azmara.
Right. So, how do you see going forward over the next two to three years, at least? How do you see the INR 70 crore spanning up?
As we have mentioned.
Will you be taking price hike also?
Of course, we are taking price hike also for this particular brand, and the market is growing at mid-teens volume growth. We clearly see that what is reflected in the market as a INR 70 crore franchise. Over the next two to three years, we should be targeting INR 100 crore franchise for our Azmara brand. As mentioned, we are looking at close to mid-teens volume growth, and over and above whatever price growth we can accommodate, we'll be able to build on that.
Okay. Great. Sir, what's the contribution from the top five products in India business?
Currently, the top seven to eight brands account for close to 64-65% of our overall India revenue. Four to five years back, the top five brands accounted for almost 84%. That goes back to the point that currently, we have a large set of progressive portfolio and platforms which are contributing to our growth and will continue to do so in the future as well.
Can we expect over the next two to three years, actually, this percentage to come down at around 50-55%?
We can do a broad math. Basically, when we say that other products will grow, even our top seven, eight franchises will continue to grow, right? We do not have the exact number right now to kind of estimate that. The endeavor is to continue to build on the big brands as well as drive significant growth in our other progressive portfolio.
Understood. Understood. At a broadly on the sector level, I just want to understand how the overall IT market is going. Just previously, like one year or one and a half years down the line for India, before it was going at around 10-12%. However, the growth is at around 6-7% now. How do you see this spanning up? Do you see additional competition from alternate channels? How do you see that shifting up?
Essentially, some of the volatility in the market tends to depend a lot on the seasonality. In the last one year with respect to season, acute has been slightly subdued, as a result of which we have seen the IPM market also being significantly subdued, and volume growth has been a major factor. The market has still grown at close to 8% with the volume growth being close to 1.82%. What we believe is that when the season is good, the volume growth can come back to 4-4.5% numbers, which means that the IPM should potentially be pegged at 9-10%. We are fairly confident that this is a market which will continue to be range-bound in the region of 8-10% going forward.
Okay. Sir, for the gross margin end of all, you have highlighted increase the guidance for operating EBITDA margin. However, from the gross margin perspective, how do you see that? Shall we see improvement in product maintenance, improvement in gross margin, or will it be on the gross operating profit?
We will continue to see in this FY2026 as well around 30-50 basis points improvement in gross margin, supported by certain cost initiatives that we keep on taking every year on year. Obviously, mix will also play a very significant role where the India business and in India business, the chronic growing significantly ahead than the other businesses. We clearly see both mix and cost initiatives will play a role in supporting around 30-50 basis points improvement in gross margin.
Okay. Sir, lastly, on the depreciation part, there was a sequentially we have seen around 10-11% growth in depreciation. Basically, what is the calendar and how shall we see this depreciation rate going forward?
Depreciation is mainly because of the amortization of intangible assets which we have acquired over the years, and particularly the off-the-shelf business also acquisition happened last year.
Okay. So, going forward, how shall we see this? The rate overall, 4-5% or more?
It would be in the range of 4-5% because we continue to invest in our CapEx. We see the depreciation to be increasing only 4-5%, supported by CapEx and intangible asset depreciation.
Okay. So, in the follow-up on that, what's the CapEx readiness for the next two years?
Around INR 100 crore.
100 crores.
100 crores over the next two years. Each year, we continue to. Yeah. We maintain our consistent INR 100 crores run rate. Maintenance close to INR 65-70 crores, another INR 25-30 crores for growth CapEx.
Okay. Understood. Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, if you wish to ask a question, please press star and one. The next question comes from the line of Alankar Garud from Kotak Institutional Equities. Please go ahead.
Hi. Good afternoon, everyone. If I look at our international formulation sales over the last three years, we have been in that range of INR 10 billion-INR 11 billion. I understand we had the South Africa restructuring and then also the issues in the CMO business in the first half of FY2025. Directionally, how should we look at this segment over the next couple of years?
Good question, Alankar, in terms of what analysis we have done. See, CDMO, we had a big spike in FY 2023 because the demand had gone up drastically up. Now our partners have been also normalizing the inventory, and the inventory has normalized. You will see CDMO business growing between 12-14% in the coming time. I earlier shared the commentary in terms of what we are trying to do in the world of CDMO business with our existing partners and the new projects that we are trying to run. Second, around INR 120 crore cut that we took in South Africa business, that cut is done because that was more related to the tender business which we did not want to participate in. That has given us a good bump up in our profitability in our South Africa business, which is more now private business.
65%-70% business is now private, which was earlier 40%. That is on South Africa. BGX has not been a good story for us, and that is the way the business was modeled. 50% of this business was more tender participation in government tendering, where we have been facing issues in terms of competitive pricing. FY2027 onwards, you will see around in the last three years, we have filed every year, we've been filing around 8-10 progressive products in these geographies. These are 40 countries across in Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, South East Asia, and Middle East. Once that comes in, we'll be able to generate better demand. We'll be able to demand better pricing, and then I think the business will be more on a pathway where we want that business to grow heavily around 10%-12%.
That is what we should see in the BGX business. Russia has been a very good story for us last year in terms of profit and profit margins. South Africa, things are arrested. Russia on a good wicket. CDMO 12%-14% growth. FY2027 onwards, we will start seeing BGX business growing at 10% to basically, it can be 12% lifting growth. But 10% growth, you should see short to medium term, medium to long term, 12% plus growth.
Understood, sir. That is really, really helpful. The other question was on trade generics. What is the scale of our trade generics business today? Do we intend to focus a bit more on this segment going forward?
We have always maintained that trade generics is not going to be our focus area. Some of the categories where we are present is by virtue of the fact that these categories are well served by distribution channels which go beyond tier two and tier three markets. It is a negligible contribution to our overall India business, and will continue to be so. We are not focusing heavily on this particular segment.
Understood. Yeah, that's it from my side. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, if you wish to ask a question, please press star and one. The next question comes from the line of Gaurav from Antique Stock Broking. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Hi. Good afternoon. Sir, India business has sequentially come down this quarter quite a bit. Any insight on that?
The sequential numbers are largely because of the March phenomena, which has always been the case as part of the industry phenomena where the trade also rationalizes the inventory levels. It has got nothing to do with the demand of our products, descriptions in the market, nothing like that. March generally tends to be soft for the industry.
Any guidance in terms of we've grown significantly faster than the market in India over the last few years? You did allude the India market growth where it's going to settle. So, how?
We have always maintained that we will maintain a 3-4 percentage points higher than market growth. We have been able to deliver that over the last four to five years, and our portfolio is well poised to continue to build on that.
Have we made new launches in the diabetes space in Q4 of this year?
No, we haven't made any new launch in the diabetes space in Q4.
Do we have some pipeline there that we want to launch in the next two years or three years?
We always continue to evaluate opportunities, but beyond that, we wouldn't want to divulge any information.
Okay. Okay. Understood. In terms of in-licensing portfolio for us, in terms of percentage of sales, how large would that be for the India business?
Currently, if you really look at our in-licensing, it's largely for the off-the-shelf portfolio, but that is also an interim arrangement because the main rationale for us to acquire the off-the-shelf portfolio was the fact that perpetual license will trigger in December 2026, which will significantly push up our gross margin profile. Outside that, we really have nothing much. There is one product, a very specialized product, which is a lipid lowering agent. Apart from that, there is no other in-licensed portfolio.
The in-licensed portfolio will be contributed to EBITDA, right? Today too, while lower gross ones, but it would be EBITDA positive, right?
It is EBITDA positive, the off-the-shelf portfolio. That's correct. As we have mentioned earlier as well, that post-perpetual license triggering, it will be significantly EBITDA accretive.
If you can explain this a little further, what happens post CY2026? Do we get ownership of these brand names?
That is correct. We have already discussed the details about this arrangement which we have on the off-the-shelf portfolio. In December 2026, a perpetual license gets triggered, and we are full-fledged custodians of these trademarks.
In terms of your appetite for more inorganic kind of opportunities in India, be it on the licensing side or acquisitions, what would be your appetite? Can we see some players in the next two to three years?
Let me answer this. I think this perhaps is your last question because there are other people also in the queue. We look at opportunity in the therapeutic areas which are more aligned to the spend which we have in execution. We earlier also in our commentary have shared that we can go up to 1.5 times of our EBITDA in terms of buying out any company, buying out brands. We look at asset which is more quality-based in a growth market and progressive. The payback period that is in place when we commit for any acquisition is 7-8 years. Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Okay. Operator, we have a few questions that have come on the question wall. I'll just answer that, and then you can go and open the floor for questions. I think the one question is on the off-the-shelf business. What has been the current run rate and how do we expect, what do we expect in terms of the current run rate for off-the-shelf in the next two or three years?
Yeah. The off-the-shelf business is on a positive track. Like we had mentioned earlier during the time of acquisition as well, when we acquired the portfolio, the quarterly run rate was close to INR 40 crore. Our first milestone was that over the next 9-12 months, how do we increase towards a INR 45 crore quarterly run rate mark? We have been able to achieve that. As we move ahead, we look at the market growth opportunities. We are clearly seeing that from a quarterly run rate perspective, this is already in towards a INR 48 crore run rate mark, and we'll continue to build on that. Our strategy in terms of prescriber expansion has started yielding us good results.
Even if you look at the last 12 months' performance for the off-the-shelf market, our growth has been close to 11%, where the market has been very subdued at 4.5%. We will continue to build on our strategy. New launches have also started progressing and contributing, and over the next one year, we will see more contribution coming in from these new launches.
How do we see the off-the-shelf business playing out in terms of top-line growth for the domestic business over the next two to three years and its impact on profitability?
When we look at the off-the-shelf portfolio, we see that this is a portfolio which will be closer towards mid-teen. We clearly see us being closer to that mid-teen growth run rate for this business. Part of that will also be attributed to some contribution coming in from new launches. With respect to the overall profitability, this year, we believe that from an annualized run rate perspective, this portfolio will be close to INR 2.00 billion plus. Given the fact that for the next in FY 2027, also, we'll be targeting close to mid-teens, we are looking at close to INR 2.30 billion annualized run rate franchisee when the perpetual license triggers in. When the perpetual license triggers, the gross margin profile changes significantly. From the current conventional margin profile of closer to 20%, it will be much closer to our domestic gross margin profile.
One can do the math, and that's the significant upside we see kicking in our overall profitability.
Great. The second question that we have on the wall is that considering that the net cash position is increasing, how do you see other income over the next year and the next one or two years?
We clearly see that we have a significant net cash surplus in this year's end. Based on that and with the future cash flows that we'll be generating, we clearly see that our other income should be in the range of INR 65 crore-INR 70 crore next year as a treasury income.
65-70?
Yeah, INR 65-70 crore.
We talked about new partners or new which will commercialize on the CDMO business. Any colors that we would want to give in terms of the CDMO partners?
The important thing is what we are doing with current partners and selected new accounts. As Nikhil clearly mentioned, the kind of new projects which are to be commercialized over the next 12-18 months, which includes lozenges with key marquee clients in newer geographies like Europe and North America. There is also LATAM opportunity, throat sprays, ORS solutions. These are important projects. In addition to that, we have always maintained that our endeavor will be to add at least one or two more anchor clients every year, and we are working towards that.
Great. Then the last question, we open to the queue. Any update on the logistic cost in terms of the Red Sea issue, especially on international trade?
No. Yeah. Sorry, go on. Please go ahead.
Pretty much the trends are consistent. No significant deviation from what the position was earlier.
Great. We can open the floor for questions. You can take the next question, Operator.
Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Rahul Jivani from IIFL Securities Limited. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Hi, sir. Thanks for taking my question. Sir, on the domestic business, our productivity has improved to INR 2.8 million already. Given that the Novartis off-the-shelf portfolio would also move in-house to us in FY2028, how do you see the productivity shaping up for the domestic business over the next three year period? If you can also comment in terms of the profitability for the domestic India business with some of these moving parts.
Now, we do not talk about profitability of the new year business. Profitability is spoken about overall company, which I think has been shared earlier. Let me answer your first question in terms of when we talk of INR 800,000 productivity, we are talking in totality, which is inclusive of our off-the-shelf business. In the coming time, you should see our productivity increasing by 12-14% over the next two to three years.
Okay. Sure, sir. While we appreciate that gross margins on the off-the-shelf portfolio will increase, let's say, from a 20% kind of a number to a company average number in FY2028, do you expect the entire quantum of benefit to flow down to EBITDA as well and hence drive a significant improvement in EBITDA margins in FY2028?
That is correct, Rahul. A significant part of the gross margin will flow through in the EBITDA. It's not a function of productivity being impacted or more people being added. It's basically sourcing profile changing and gross margin flowing into EBITDA. While we mentioned that we don't want to comment on individual business profitability, we have mentioned earlier that on a standalone basis, the off-the-shelf profitability will be, if nothing higher, than our India business current profitability.
Sure, sir.
Sir, can you also talk about, given that there is this risk around Zanta? Let's say in the worst case outcome of you being required to withdraw Zanta from the market, what would our risk mitigation strategy be?
We would not want to comment on anything like that. For us, this is a product which has pretty much been there in existence for so many years with a very strong safety profile. We believe that the government and the key stakeholders understand that very well. Their request of manufacturers being much more vigilant towards quality is something which we respect and welcome so that some of the other low-cost generic players are pretty much cognizant of the quality parameters. As we speak, there are markets in which this molecule has been relaunched over the last six to eight months, which again is a very positive sign. As manufacturers, we are committed to maintaining the quality and government standards.
Sure, sir. Would it be possible to disclose the number of plates which you would have for Zanta?
It is part of our mass division. For that mass division, it is not that Zanta is the only brand. There are a significant number of acute brands which we have in that particular division. It is not that our division is dependent on Zanta. If nothing, Zanta is not even a priority product.
Sure, sir. That's it from my side. Thank you.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, if you wish to ask a question, please press star and one. The next question comes from the line of Naman Bagrecha from IIFL Securities Limited. Please go ahead.
Thanks. Thanks for the opportunity. Sir, just one thing. Your views on the API business, while it's a small business, you're seeing over the last two years, 2024, 2025, it has been declining. How should we see this business going ahead? Do you expect further decline and what were the challenges over the last two years?
Actually, when we look at our API business, the third-party sale has always been dependent on one key product which is our portfolio. We had always witnessed that over the last four years that the market for this particular category was in mature phase and in some geographies was declining. Therefore, we have taken a cautious call how we can utilize the API business to maintain our own supply security as well as contribute more towards improving the margin profile of our U.S. handler. As a result of that, we insource some products, and that is contributing to the profitability of our U.S. business. We will continue to do that. We do not see a further decline, even in terms of third-party sales from where things stand right now. It will pretty much be range-bound in what figures we are seeing over the last couple of years.
More importantly, how we are leveraging our infrastructure towards contributing more towards the overall business profitability in terms of captive consumption. That has been our effort.
Okay. Okay. Thanks, sir. In the opening remarks, you highlighted that a progressive portfolio is growing much faster than the IPM growth. Can you enumerate what would be our progressive portfolio growth versus, let's say, the market growth of that particular category?
It's very difficult, Naman, to talk about. See, we in totality are speaking, and I think earlier Kunal has spoken that probably Silacar market, Silnet in combination, Ikaria, Metrogyl, Razel, Azmarda, all these category, if I have to give you some glimpses, we are beating the market growth. That is where we stand. More details can be shared offline. Off-the-shelf market also was shared that we are growing at 22% as compared to market growth of 11-12%. We have been beating for 75% of our progressive portfolio within India, beating the market growth in a significant way. That is what I can share. I think Jason can help you at some given time offline if you want. Both agents will be more than happy to share.
Sure. Thank you. Sir, just last one question on the dividend payout policy. Our dividend has increased. Is there any stated policy where you'd want to maintain, let's say, 40%, 50%, or 60% kind of a dividend payout?
Our dividend payout, Naman, has been in the range of closer to 25% over the last two to three years, and we continue to be at 35% even for this year. I do not see any significant change in the strategy of our dividend policy.
All right. Thanks. Thank you.
Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Mohammad Patel from Edelweiss Public Alternate. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Hi, sir. I have one question. Can you talk a little bit about the non-progressive portfolio and what are the management thoughts on this portfolio going ahead?
Non-progressive. Non-progressive will be, see, the definition of non-progressive is what I think was spoken about, that there are some brands within the Rantac franchise, some SKUs within the Rantac franchise, some SKUs within the Nicardia franchise. So, there are those types of portfolio which we continue. People continue to give brand reminder in the clinic of doctor. There is no other strategy.
Okay. So, that part of the portfolio grows at least with the market or below market?
There's no growth. 50%, if you look at planners in plain, there is hardly any growth. It is at par with the market. Nicardia, we are 90% of market. We are only driving the market. Now, we are driving the entire market growth for Nicardia franchise with the help of Nicardia XL. Nicardia XL is growing at 25-30%. Whereas Nicardia plain, which is INR 7-8 crore, is stagnant. More now, your prescriptions, profitability, everything has been driven by Nicardia XL, which is around INR 3-4 crore a month. That is how we manage the portfolio which is non-progressive.
Okay. Got it. Thank you.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, we take the last question from the line of Meghna Agarwal from Mount Indra Finance. Please go ahead.
Hello. Thank you for the opportunity. I just wanted to understand about the sale that is happening. Any timeline for that?
Which sale?
Hello?
Hello.
Yeah. Can you hear me?
Yeah. I can, but you're talking about which sale? Sale of which? What? We are into formulation production.
300 million stake in the JB Pharma, but I'm talking about 300% stake.
Sorry? We can't hear you.
Hello.
What is it that you want to hear?
Yeah, I'm talking about it.
Able to hear you well. Please, can you be a bit louder? We are not able to understand what you're asking. Louder and clear. Clear what you're asking. Yeah.
Hello. Am I audible now?
Yeah. Yes.
Yes. I'm asking about the sale stake of the promoter. What is the timeline about that?
Stake of what? Sorry? Sale?
Promoter.
See, very difficult for us to answer that question in this conference call. This conference call is more related to the performance for the business. These all questions probably will be more than if it is promoter's say in terms of what actions they want to do. We basically are a team of management, and we more focus on the business operations.
Okay. So, no timeline as of now?
No. No.
Okay.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, with that, we conclude the question and answer session. I now hand the conference over to the management for their closing comments.
Thank you all for attending the conference call today. This is the fifth year in a row in terms of the way the JB team has been coming, meeting you all, and sharing the insights in terms of the way business is progressing in transparency. A couple of things that more I would like to talk business, business. I think anything and everything that we do at JB is best-in-class compliance. I think what was also shared is that our plants also continue to get audited by the US FDA, by other regulatory authorities, and our people at the plants also have done a fantastic job in terms of facing those audits. Not only no 403, no observations. That is what we can boast in terms of what we have delivered as a company. Whatever drugs we manufacture are best-in-class compliance.
That is what I wanted to share. Equally, the focus continues to be on the business delivery in terms of driving better profitability, focusing more on India, which contributes to 60% of our business. CDMO contributing 12% of our business. Also, some parts of ROW market, which are more aligned to our strength. We will see how we can commercialize the new products and drive better growth and better productivity in the coming time. Thank you all. Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you. On behalf of JB Pharma, that concludes this conference. Thank you for joining us, and you may now disconnect your line.