Alivus Life Sciences, the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) maker formerly known as Glenmark Life Sciences, has opened the second half of FY27 with a sharply stronger profit line, a fast-growing contract manufacturing book and new capacity about to come on stream. The Nirma-controlled company’s board approved standalone results for the July–September 2026 quarter on 29 October, and management walked analysts through the numbers on an earnings call on 30 October.

Revenue from operations rose 16% year on year to Rs 682 crore, and 6.5% over the previous quarter. Net profit climbed 51.3% to Rs 197 crore from Rs 130 crore a year earlier.

The quarter in numbers

• Revenue from operations: Rs 682 crore, up 16% YoY and 6.5% QoQ.
• Gross margin: 64.4%, an improvement of 670 basis points over Q2 FY26.
• EBITDA: Rs 285 crore, up 47%, at a 41.8% margin. Stripping out one-offs, the margin works out to roughly 39.5%.
• PAT: Rs 197 crore, up 51.3%.
• H1 FY27: revenue of Rs 1,322 crore (up 11.1%) and PAT of Rs 357 crore.

Management pointed to two items that lifted the quarter’s margin: a high-margin validation supply of a complex product and a one-time accrual of customer income. Excluding them, profitability remained well above the company’s own full-year guidance, which was reiterated at revenue growth of 10–12% and an EBITDA margin of 35–36% for FY27.

Beyond its former parent

The more structural story is the mix. Sales to customers other than Glenmark Pharmaceuticals grew 20.8% and now make up 79% of revenue, spread across Europe, Japan, North America, Latin America and the rest of the world. Business with Glenmark itself grew just 1%. For a company that was carved out of Glenmark and came under Nirma’s control in March 2024, the steady shift towards an independent customer base is central to its investment case.

The generic API business grew 11%. The company has more than 630 DMF and CEP filings worldwide, including around 160 US DMFs, about 60 of which cover molecules yet to go off patent, giving it a pipeline of launch opportunities as exclusivities lapse.

CDMO gathers pace

Contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) revenue reached Rs 50 crore, up roughly 80% year on year and 32.3% sequentially. Growth came from five existing projects, with one more in an advanced stage. Chief Financial Officer Tushar Mistry told analysts the company aims to double the CDMO business over the next three to four years, taking it to 12–15% of revenue.

Capacity build-out: Solapur, Dahej, Ankleshwar

Alivus said Phase 1 of its greenfield site at Solapur will become operational in Q3 FY27. It will initially make intermediates, with EU GMP and USFDA inspections planned later. Brownfield additions of about 160 KL at Dahej (Q3 FY27) and about 100 KL at Ankleshwar (Q4 FY27) are also on track, and total planned reactor capacity is 2,690 KL by FY29. A new R&D centre at Taloja is under construction.

The company is also building a high-potency API portfolio. Its grid of 30 products addresses a market estimated at about USD 86 billion: 14 have been validated, seven are at an advanced stage and nine are in the lab. Oncology high-potency APIs are expected to commercialise between late FY28 and FY34.

Flow chemistry and formulations

On process technology, management said one commercial flow chemistry project has cut cost of goods to less than half of the batch process. Five more flow projects are planned over the next 18–24 months. Alivus also expects to validate 15 pellet products within a year and is evaluating its own oral solid dosage formulation plant, which could take 18–24 months to build.

Watching solvent costs

Among the risks discussed on the call were crude-linked solvent prices, which account for about 7–8% of cost of goods. On the energy side, the company said it has switched its boilers to bio-briquettes.

The balance sheet gives it room to manoeuvre. Alivus reported cash of about Rs 1,012 crore, no net debt and free cash flow of Rs 270 crore. It also incorporated a subsidiary in Brazil on 15 September 2026. Latin America is already one of the regions driving its non-Glenmark sales.

Led by Managing Director and CEO Dr Yasir Rawjee, Alivus is pairing its generic API base with CDMO, high-potency and flow chemistry capabilities. That mix reflects a wider shift among Indian API makers towards higher-value, more specialised manufacturing as global customers diversify their supply chains.

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