Shares of Piramal Enterprises Ltd (PEL) gained 3.45 per cent on bourses on Tuesday as reports swirled that the diversified company is planning to sell its contract pharmaceutical operations that could fetch $1 billion.
On the Bombay Stock Exchange, the shares of PEL, headed by Ajay Piramal, jumped Rs 77.75 to settle at Rs 2329 on the back of the news. During intra-day trades, the scrip saw gains of almost 4.38 per cent to touch a high of Rs 2349.90.
The stock spiked after Bloomberg reported on Tuesday that PEL is working with advisers to ascertain buyer interest in Piramal Pharma Solutions and that discussions are at an early stage.
Piramal Pharma Solutions has operations across North America, Europe and Asia. It offers integrated solutions and a platform of services across the drug lifecycle that ranges from drug discovery and development to commercial manufacturing of drugs. As an integrated service provider, the subsidiary serves innovators and generic companies globally.
According to the company’s website, Piramal Pharma Solutions has accreditations from regulatory bodies in the US, Europe & Japan. It also has development centres and manufacturing sites across the globe and has a pool of over 700 scientists looking after research & development programmes.
In October last year, the company had invested $55 million across its sites in North America and Asia, to expand its active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturing capabilities and capacities.
During the first quarter ended June 30, consolidated revenues of PEL showed a rise of 29 per cent at Rs 2,902 crore with growth coming from all the business segments. While around 41 per cent of the company’s revenues are earned in foreign currency, the adjusted net profit during the quarter (excludes exceptional items) showed a rise of 27 per cent at Rs 382 crores compared with Rs 302 crore in the first quarter of the previous fiscal.
For PEL, financial services is the largest contributor as it accounts for 44 per cent of its revenues. This is followed by pharma, healthcare insights & analytics.
