Alkem FY26: Record EBITDA, faster international growth, and a semaglutide launch to watch

Alkem Laboratories ended FY26 with its highest-ever EBITDA, backed by broad-based revenue growth across India and international markets. For the full year, revenue from operations rose to INR 147,123 million, up 13.5% year on year. EBITDA increased 19.6% to INR 30,052 million, and EBITDA margin improved to 20.4% from 19.4% in FY25. PAT after non-controlling interest grew 6.3% to INR 23,018 million.

Q4 FY26 carried a different tone. Revenue from operations grew 14.6% to INR 36,033 million and EBITDA rose 32.2% to INR 5,174 million, with margin expanding to 14.4% from 12.4% in Q4 FY25. But reported PAT fell 22.7% to INR 2,365 million, largely due to exceptional items related to employee benefit past service costs under the labour codes and impairment of real estate investments.

The year’s result highlights a company benefitting from an improving business mix. International revenue is growing faster than India, and management expects a rising contribution from chronic therapies in India, helped by a newly launched GLP-1 product.

FY26 growth was steady in India, sharp overseas

In FY26, domestic sales were INR 98,514 million, up 9.7% year on year. International sales were INR 46,810 million, up 22.5%. The domestic share of total sales continued to trend down as the overseas business grew faster, with domestic contributing 67.8% in FY26 versus 70.2% in FY25.

In Q4, India sales grew 8.8% to INR 23,245 million, while international sales jumped 25.4% to INR 12,223 million. US sales in Q4 were INR 7,681 million, up 26.2%. Non-US sales were INR 4,543 million, up 24.1%.

Management also pointed to market outperformance in India using IQVIA data. For Q4 FY26, Alkem’s growth in the Indian market was cited at 11.1% versus IPM growth of 10.1%. In FY26, Alkem’s cited growth was 9.2% versus IPM growth of 9.0%. The company also highlighted stronger growth in chronic versus acute segments.

Q4 profit was hit by exceptional items, while operating metrics improved

The company disclosed exceptional items that impacted comparability. For Q4 FY26, exceptional items included an incremental liability towards gratuity and leave encashment for past service cost following finalisation of central rules under labour codes, and an impairment of real estate investments. For FY26, exceptional items included similar employee benefit charges and real estate impairment, partly offset by a gain from reversal of impairment on sale of the Indore facility.

This matters because operating performance was strong. Gross margin in Q4 improved to 65.4% versus 59.3% in Q4 FY25. At the same time, quarterly profitability was dragged down by exceptional items and higher R&D intensity. R&D spend in Q4 was stated at 6.4% of revenue from operations, while full-year R&D remained stable at 4.2%.

In the earnings call, management reiterated that Q4 is typically the heaviest filing quarter, which tends to push quarterly R&D higher, but the annual run-rate remains within the 4% to 5% band.

What management is focusing on in FY27

The forward commentary was a mix of confidence and caution. On the India business, management repeated the goal of growing 100 to 150 basis points faster than the Indian Pharmaceutical Market. A key new element is semaglutide. Management said the company executed a day 1 launch in March 2026, and cited early IQVIA trends showing around 11% unit market share in the most recent report. It called the product a priority for FY27 and linked it to accelerating chronic therapy growth.

Management also shared that the company’s chronic business in India, based on its internal definition, is close to 22% of the branded generics business, and that it has been improving by about 1 percentage point each year over the last few years. It also mentioned field force additions skewed toward chronic therapies, with total medical representatives at about 14,500 and attrition around 18% to 19%.

On the US, management guided to high single-digit growth in FY27 on a dollar-to-dollar basis for the pharma business, while acknowledging that base business erosion is a recurring feature of the US generic market. It also pointed to new launches supporting the outlook. In response to a question, management indicated an expected launch timeline for Tolvaptan around September or October 2026, with contribution expected in the second half.

For non-US markets, management described a higher-teens growth outlook.

Margins, however, are being positioned as more sensitive to external volatility than in prior years. Management cited the geopolitical environment and evolving global supply chain dynamics, pointing to higher logistics costs and pressure on APIs and packaging materials. Within that uncertainty, the company suggested an FY27 EBITDA margin range of 20% to 21%, broadly in line with FY26.

Newer verticals: Medtech and Enzene remain early, but tracked

The call also provided limited but useful markers on two newer verticals. Management said Medtech contribution is currently less than 1% and stated the Occlutech acquisition is expected to close in roughly 45 to 60 days from the call date. If completed as expected, management suggested that numbers should start reflecting post-close.

On Enzene and the US biologics plant, management distinguished between Enzene India and the US plant. It said Enzene India is around breakeven to early double-digit, teens EBITDA, while the US operation is still ramping up and is expected to be loss-making initially. It also stated that the US CDMO revenue base is currently small, indicating that the prior year’s recognised CDMO revenue from the US was less than INR 100 crore, and that reaching INR 200 to 300 crore could take a couple of years.

Regulatory and governance updates to track

The presentation included a facility status table that investors will likely monitor. The Daman formulations unit had an inspection in April 2026 with a Form 483 and observations, with response under submission. Other listed sites had EIR received or EIR awaited with no observations.

Separately, the company’s board outcome announcement stated that the board recommended a final dividend of INR 10 per equity share of face value INR 2 for FY26, subject to shareholder approval. It also disclosed AGM and record dates for the dividend process.

Key takeaways

Alkem’s FY26 result is a story of steady India execution, faster international growth, and margin expansion through mix and cost discipline. Q4 headline profit was distorted by exceptional items, but underlying revenue and gross margin trends were strong. FY27 priorities are clear: sustain outperformance in India, scale the semaglutide launch to lift chronic contribution, and deliver a US growth profile supported by launches like Tolvaptan.

The watchlist for investors is also clear. Input cost inflation tied to geopolitics, US price erosion, regulatory follow-through at Daman, and leadership transition are all real variables. Against that, the company’s stated net cash position of INR 54.74 billion and an articulated forex hedging approach provide balance sheet and risk-management comfort.