Homegrown drugmaker Alkem Laboratories Ltd has struck separate deals to acquire two smaller peers for a cumulative Rs 287 crore ($32.8 million) in cash, as it looks to expand its product portfolio and gain market share in the country.
The company will acquire Adroit Biomed Ltd for Rs 140 crore, payable in two transactions, while its wholly owned subsidiary Alkem Medtech Pvt Ltd will purchase Bombay Ortho Industries Pvt Ltd for Rs 147 crore, payable in four tranches, it said in stock-exchange filings Friday.
The acquisition of Bombay Ortho, a manufacturer and supplier of orthopedic implants such as hip and knee implants, will help Alkem to gain manufacturing capabilities in the growing orthopedic space, the drugmaker said.
Founded in May 2021, Bombay Ortho had revenue of just Rs 30 lakh in 2022-23. This rose to Rs 5.5 crore in 2023-24.
Adroit, a pharma healthcare company which focuses on dermato-cosmetology is of a much older vintage, having been founded in December 2009. In 2021-22, it had revenue of Rs 37.77 crore. This rose to Rs 48.14 crore and Rs 53.55 crore in the subsequent years.
The two acquisitions come even as Alkem Labs reported a 5.2% year-on-year increase in its net profit for the third quarter of the current financial year to Rs 625 crore from Rs 595 crore a year earlier. Revenue from operations increased 1.5% to Rs 3,374 crore.
Although the company saw its India sales increase, overall growth was muted thanks to a fall in its international sales.
Alkem’s foreign sales fell by 6.2% in the October-December quarter to Rs 960.5 crore but India sales rose 5.9% to Rs 2,364.9 crore, contributing 71.1% to its total revenue.
At the operating level, the company’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) rose to Rs 759.4 crore from Rs 707.6 crore in the same period last financial year.
