Anthem Biosciences makes drug molecules to order for other pharmaceutical companies, from early research through to commercial supply. That contract business was 81.5% of June-quarter revenue; the rest is speciality ingredients such as enzymes and nutritional actives sold under its own account. It works from three plants in Karnataka and listed on the exchanges in July 2025. It is unusually good at it — a 39.6% operating margin in the June quarter and a 29.6% return on capital, the highest of the listed Indian contract manufacturers.
Yes — in this business the pipeline is the measure, and it is full. Fourteen molecules are in commercial supply and ten more in late-stage Phase III trials, which is the pipeline that converts into revenue as customers' drugs are approved. Capacity is 425 kilolitres of custom synthesis and 142 kilolitres of fermentation, with fixed assets turning 1.10 times. Management says orders already cover 60% of what it needs for the full year.
There is effectively no debt. Borrowings are ₹54 crore against ₹3,043 crore of shareholders' funds, a debt-to-equity of 0.02, and the company held ₹1,720 crore of net cash at the end of June — about two and a half times a year's operating profit.
Anthem Biosciences earns unusually high margins for a manufacturer and kept them through a weak quarter. Operating margin was 39.6% in the June quarter, higher than a year earlier despite revenue falling 22.6%, and the company holds ₹1,720 crore of net cash. Management says 60% of the year's revenue is already covered by orders in hand.
The June quarter went backwards. Revenue was ₹418 crore, down 22.6% from a year earlier and 31.5% from the March quarter, and profit fell 11.7% to ₹120 crore. Management says deliveries slipped rather than demand, with more of the year's shipments scheduled for later months. The longer record is strong: revenue grew 15.2% last year to ₹2,124 crore and 26.2% a year over three years.
Entirely on its own. Growth comes from new plants rather than purchases — a third site, NeoAnthem at Harohalli, is taking on peptide synthesis and oncology work, and management says most of what it does is new projects rather than production moved from the older units. Capacity stands at 425 kilolitres for custom synthesis and 142 kilolitres for fermentation.
Improving, and from a high base. Operating margin was 39.6% in the June quarter against 38.1% a year earlier, and net margin 27.1% against 24.1% — achieved while revenue fell, which is unusual. For the full year, operating margin was 39.3% and gross margin 66.4%.
Yes, better than most manufacturers. Return on capital employed was 29.6% last year and return on equity 19.5%, both slightly higher than the year before. Fixed assets generated 1.10 times their value in sales during the June quarter.
Mostly. It generated ₹844 crore of cash from operations last year against ₹592 crore of profit, but over three years cash has run slightly behind profit at 0.89 times. Customers now take 101 days to pay, up from 89, while inventory turns over in 21 days.
Anthem Biosciences is run by its founder Ajay Bhardwaj, who is chairman, managing director and chief executive at once — three roles most listed companies separate. The founding group owns 71.42%, none of it pledged, though it sold 3.25% of the company in the quarter its listing lock-in expired. Three members of the family are employed in the business.
The auditors, K. P. Rao & Co, signed off with no qualifications and nothing they wanted to draw attention to. This is the first full year the company has been audited as a listed business, so there is only one year of that record to judge.
Anthem Biosciences sells research and manufacturing services to drug companies, which was 81.5% of June-quarter revenue, alongside speciality ingredients at 18.5%. Its distinguishing capability is fermentation, which most Indian contract manufacturers do not have at scale.
Divi's Laboratories, Syngene International, Laurus Labs, Sai Life Sciences, Neuland Laboratories and Cohance Lifesciences are the main listed Indian rivals. Anthem is smaller than most of them by revenue but earns higher margins than any.
What is working: margins near 40% that held through a falling quarter, ₹1,720 crore of net cash, ten molecules in late-stage trials, and new capacity at NeoAnthem. Against it: revenue fell 22.6% in the June quarter because a handful of customer deliveries moved, which shows how concentrated the order book is, and at ₹826 on 6 August 2026 the share was priced at 78 times earnings.
Growing, and lumpier than the growth suggests. Western drug companies are moving manufacturing out of China and outsourcing more of it, which is the tide Anthem sits on. But it serves relatively few customers on large contracts, so a handful of shipments slipping between quarters swung reported revenue by a fifth in June — in this business a bad quarter is often a calendar problem rather than a demand problem, and telling the two apart is the whole job.
Anthem Biosciences carries one of the highest ratings in Indian pharmaceuticals, which the market justifies on its margins rather than its size. Institutions have been buying since it listed, largely from founders selling after the lock-in expired.
Expensive, though not the dearest of its peer group. At ₹826 on 6 August 2026 the share was priced at 78 times earnings, 15.2 times book value and 21.8 times sales, on FY26 earnings of ₹10.54 a share and a market value of ₹46,377 crore. Divi's Laboratories was at 86 times its last full year and 21 times sales, Laurus Labs at 111 times. On enterprise value to operating profit Anthem was at 49 times, level with Divi's — which is at least consistent with margins of 39.6% against Divi's 32.6%. Free cash flow is the outlier at 285 times, because most of the profit is going into new plants.
Bought by institutions, sold by founders. Indian funds have risen from 7.2% to 13.5% in three quarters and foreign funds from 1.7% to 2.6%, while the promoter stake fell from 74.67% to 71.42% as the listing lock-in expired. Small shareholders fell from 16.4% to 12.5%. There are 173,273 shareholders.
Eight investors own more than 1%, and unusually for a company this size, individuals dominate. Satish S Sharma, Malay Jiban Barua and Rupesh Narharrao Kinekar hold about 2.2% each — 6.7% between them, more than any fund. Portsmouth Technologies is the single largest at 2.73%, ahead of HDFC Flexi Cap Fund at 2.44%, with SBI MNC Fund, Quant Mid Cap Fund and Axis ELSS Tax Saver Fund behind.
It is not raising money and barely issuing shares — the count rose 0.47% last year, from employee options. It pays a dividend of ₹2 a share, about 19% of profit, and repaid debt, taking borrowings from ₹113 crore to ₹54 crore.
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