Hikal Ltd

Pharmaceuticals & Drugs - Global

Hikal Ltd

Pharmaceuticals & Drugs - Global

Emerging Market Leaders

CMP
Rs. 377
Rating:
Buy
Target
Rs. 525
May 21, 2021

Stock Info

BSE
524735
NSE
HIKAL
Bloomberg
HKCL:IN
Reuters
HIKA.NS
Sector
Pharmaceuticals & Drugs - Global
Face Value (Rs)
2
Equity Capital (Rs cr)
24.66
Mkt Cap (Rs cr)
4772.36
52w H/L (Rs)
374.40 - 111.00
Avg Daily Vol (BSE+NSE)
926,511

Shareholding Pattern

(as on 31-Mar)
%
Promoter
68.77
FIIs
5.91
DIIs
0.59
Public & Others
24.73

Price performance

Return (%)
1m
3m
12m
Absolute
82.91
140.93
222.89
Sensex
5.12
1.60
63.39

Indexed Stock Performance

Hikal Ltd Sensex
Hikal Ltd
Source: Ace equity, StockAxis Research

Provider of World-Class Active Ingredients, Intermediates And R&D Services to Global Pharmaceuticals, Animal Health, Biotech, Crop Protection and Specialty Chemicals Companies

Company Profile
Hikal Limited was incorporated in the year 1988 as a private company by the Hiremath family and Surajmukhi Investments and Finance Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kalyani Steels Limited. It is predominantly a B2B player which provides intermediates and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) to global pharmaceutical, animal health, crop protection, and speciality chemical companies. Today, Hikal is the leading global supplier to the Life Sciences industry. The company operates in geographic areas, including India, the USA, Canada, Europe, and South-East Asia. It has five manufacturing facilities and one Research & Technology (R&T) facility. The crop protection facilities are located at Taloja and Mahad (Maharashtra), R&T facilities at Pune and the Pharmaceutical facilities in Jigani (Bengaluru) and Panoli (Gujarat).

Hikal

Source: Investor Presentation; StockAxis Research

Investment Rationale

Established Track Record and Dominant Position in a Few Products
The company has a strong product profile and entrenched relationship with leading multi-national pharmaceutical as well as agro-chemical companies in the world. It is exclusive supplier of various off-patent and on-patent protection chemicals to innovators. It is the world’s largest supplier of Gabapentin (used to treat epilepsy, neuropathic pain, hot flashes, and restless legs syndrome) with the market leading position with a market share of ~35% as of FY20. The global Gabapentin market size is projected to reach USD 1,686.7 million by 2026, from USD 1,515.5 million in 2020 (Source: marketwatch), which gives a potential visibility for the company’s revenue growth. It is also the world’s largest supplier of Thiabendazole (primarily used to control fungal diseases in fruits and vegetables). Following are the product offerings by the company.

Product List – API

Hikal

Source: Company Website; StockAxis Research

Product List – Crop Protection

Hikal

Source: Company Website; StockAxis Research

Healthy Pipeline of Generic APIs
The company has a healthy pipeline of products under development for proprietary and contract manufacturing, which could support the future growth and profitability, especially in the export market. In Pharmaceutical segment, the company has three-four generic products in the development stage and in crop protection, it has two products under development. Also, it has several products under development for contract manufacturing under the both divisions.

Factors such as increase in volume offtake for new product launches, ramp-up in production of high gross margin molecules, continuous development of new molecule pipeline and receipt of new inquiries from global customers aiming to diversify their supply chain, are some of the favourable growth prospects for the company. The company sees significant tailwinds in both businesses and with completion of the past capex program it is confident of maintaining growth trajectory over the next 2-3 years.

Client Base – Reputed and Diversified
The pharmaceutical division's client base is diverse, with the top three customers accounting for ~38% of sales in FY20 and ~34% during H1FY21. The company is the market leader in Gabapentin, which it sells to several major generic firms, including the innovators. The top three customers in the crop protection segment accounted for ~55% of revenue in FY20 and ~54% in H1FY21. The risk of customer concentration is mitigated by the established presence of Hikal’s crop protection customers and its exclusive supply contracts for multiple products with these companies.

In the Pharmaceutical segment, the company has recently signed a 10-year supply contract with a leading global multinational customer for a portfolio of niche APIs, marking a significant milestone in its animal health business. The company has teamed up with the customer to set up a new facility at Panoli site. As a result, the management expects that there will be more opportunities to expand the animal health business into a full-fledged vertical.

Strong Financial Performance
After posting ~5% dip in the top-line in FY20 due to several headwinds in the form of inventory correction by several clients, water logging at Mahad facility, water supply issues at Taloja facility, along with the demand disruption near the end of the year on account of the Covid-19 pandemic, Hikal is now on the growth track. From the beginning of FY21, it has posted the continuous growth in revenues, operating margins, and bottom line.

During FY21, the top-line of the company grew 14.1% YoY on account of better sales volumes of new and existing products as well as penetration in the new markets. The Pharmaceutical division witnessed ~19% YoY growth backed by increased volumes of existing API Generics and CDMO products and crop protection division witnessed ~7% YoY growth enabled by strong recovery in H2FY21. Further, EBITDA grew by 18.1% YoY and margin stood at 18.8% (an expansion of 64bps YoY). The management expects margins to improve 50-100 bps/year on the back of several cost rationalisation and efficiency improvement measures. The PAT margins grew to 7.7% during the year, compared to 5.6% during FY20. Its profitability has been on the rise in FY21 as a result of focused business excellence initiatives, and management is optimistic that the bottom line to continue improve in the coming years.

The company sees substantial opportunities to profitably expand its business. It has hired a top global consultant to help it with a business transformation plan that will enable it to pivot its growth in a sustainable way. This strategic exercise will focus on increasing operational efficiency and finding and implementing new opportunities in order to achieve the company's strategic target in the next 4-5 years.

Outlook and Valuation

We believe that the company will continue to benefit from its established track record, healthy pipeline of generic APIs, introduction of new products, along with favourable growth prospects for the existing products. It has a healthy pipeline of products under development for proprietary and contract manufacturing, which is expected to support its growth prospects, especially in the export market. At the current market price of Rs. 377, the stock is trading at 19.8x of FY23E earnings.

Financial Statement

Profit & Loss statement

Year End March (Rs. in Crores) 2019 2020 2021 2022E 2023E
Net Sales 1589.61 1507.26 1720.44 1970.00 2260.00
Growth % 22.65% -5.18% 14.14% 14.51% 14.72%
Expenditure
Material Cost 853.82 776.32 908.38 1028.34 1175.20
Employee Cost 135.69 156.57 164.32 174.00 184.00
Other Expenses 301.98 301.22 324.85 388.09 448.61
EBITDA 298.13 273.16 322.89 379.57 452.19
EBITDA Margin 18.75% 18.12% 18.77% 19.27% 20.01%
Depreciation & Amortization 92.88 82.46 85.24 98.03 113.71
EBIT 205.25 190.70 237.65 281.54 338.48
EBIT Margin % 12.91% 12.65% 13.81% 14.29% 14.98%
Other Income 2.26 3.70 4.98 4.50 4.50
Interest & Finance Charges 58.43 52.42 36.20 34.82 27.32
Profit Before Tax - Before Exceptional 149.08 141.98 206.43 251.22 315.66
Profit Before Tax 149.08 126.58 206.43 251.22 315.66
Tax Expense 46.01 42.14 73.28 64.06 80.49
Exceptional Items - -15.40 - - -
Net Profit 103.08 84.43 133.15 187.16 235.16
Net Profit Margin 6.48% 5.60% 7.74% 9.50% 10.41%
Consolidated Net Profit 103.08 84.43 133.15 187.16 235.16
Net Profit Margin after MI 6.48% 5.60% 7.74% 9.50% 10.41%

Balance Sheet

As of March (Rs. in Crores) 2019 2020 2021 2022E 2023E
Share Capital 24.66 24.66 24.66 24.66 24.66
Total Reserves 731.55 791.84 908.74 1071.24 1281.74
Shareholders' Funds 756.21 816.50 933.40 1095.90 1306.40
Non Current Liabilities
Long Term Borrowing 297.84 303.40 262.89 214.32 164.32
Current Liabilities
Short Term Borrowings 301.88 257.54 251.43 200.00 150.00
Trade Payables 160.01 201.16 229.62 262.88 301.32
Other Current Liabilities 136.11 133.28 171.29 171.29 171.29
Total Equity & Liabilities 1774.65 1879.44 1913.22 2083.55 2232.49
Assets
Net Block 712.96 735.22 712.56 864.53 950.82
Current Assets
Currents Investments - - - - -
Inventories 364.23 312.46 266.70 303.32 347.67
Sundry Debtors 349.72 340.44 485.53 480.26 550.48
Cash and Bank 31.74 63.57 36.81 50.00 64.00
Total Assets 1774.65 1879.44 1913.22 2083.55 2232.49