Novartis India Q1: PAT +17% YoY to ₹32 Cr as revenue climbs 19%, margins hold steady

Novartis India delivered a clean double-digit-growth quarter on a standalone basis (its only basis — the company has no subsidiaries). Revenue from operations rose 18.6% YoY to ₹103.81 Cr (₹87.55 Cr a year ago) and 14.6% sequentially, while profit after tax grew 16.6% YoY to ₹32.21 Cr (₹27.62 Cr) and 27.6% QoQ off a soft ₹25.25 Cr March quarter. EPS came in at ₹13.05 (not annualised). Growth was broad and operational rather than one-off driven: there were no exceptional items on either side of the comparison, so the reported print equals the underlying, and the ~25.4% effective tax rate was steady versus the year-ago 25.8%. PBT of ₹43.17 Cr was up 16.0% YoY, tracking the topline. Net margin held at ~28.6% of total income versus ~28.1% a year ago — essentially flat, with PAT growth trailing revenue growth by ~2 points as purchases of stock-in-trade (₹76.05 Cr) scaled with the higher traded-goods volumes that drive this pure pharmaceutical-distribution business.

The number that matters as much as the P&L is the ownership change running alongside it: Novartis AG has agreed to sell its 70.68% stake (1,74,50,680 shares) to a WaveRise/ChrysCapital Fund X/Two Infinity consortium, with the mandatory open offer having closed on 24 June 2026 (Note 6). This quarter is therefore effectively the last set of results under Novartis AG control, and the new promoter group's distribution strategy, transfer-pricing arrangements and the fate of the single dominant customer relationship are the real forward swing factors — none of which the filing quantifies. The company gives no formal revenue or margin guidance, and there is no meaningful published street consensus for a name of this size under an active acquisition, so the print can only be judged against its own base — against which it is a genuinely strong, low-noise quarter. A minor watch item: the newly notified Labour Codes lifted FY26 employee-benefit provisions by ₹0.79 Cr (Note 7), a cost line to monitor as state rules finalise.

The stock went into the print at ₹1,744.95, up 18.8% over the past month of trading.

For context: this is the highest quarterly PAT in the last 6 quarters on our records; PAT has now risen for 2 consecutive quarters; revenue is at a 6-quarter high.