Cohance Lifesciences Ltd — Q4 FY26 earnings call
Summary generated by AI from the official transcript Cohance Lifesciences Ltd filed with BSE on 15 May 2026. Every statement cites a verbatim quote from that document — open any citation to read it. This is a record of what management said, not a recommendation. How we check these summaries
The short read
Cohance Lifesciences reported FY26 revenue of INR22.68 billion, down approximately 13% year-on-year, with adjusted EBITDA of INR4.77 billion and an EBITDA margin of 21%. Management attributed the decline to destocking in two large commercial CDMO molecules, product-specific and shipment issues in API+, and a temporary disruption at the Nacharam formulation site. Management said Q1 FY27 would be weak on revenue and EBITDA, with growth returning from the second half of FY27 as order books convert into shipments.
Numbers mentioned
Pharma CDMO revenue: INR8.89 billion (FY26)
p. 2
“The Pharma CDMO business reported revenue of INR8.89 billion for FY26.”
Yann D’Herve, page 2 of the filed PDF · View the filing
API+ revenue: INR10.88 billion (FY26)
p. 3
“The API+ business reported revenues of INR10.88 billion in FY26, reflecting a decline of 8% year-on-year.”
Gunjan Singh, page 3 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Specialty chemicals revenue: INR2.913 billion (FY26)
p. 4
“Specialty chemicals reported revenue of INR2.913 billion in FY26, a marginal decline of 2.1% year-on-year.”
Amrit, page 4 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Revenue: INR22.68 billion (FY26)
p. 5
“For FY26, revenue stood at INR22.68 billion, a decline of approximately 13% year-on-year.”
Himanshu Agarwal, page 5 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Adjusted EBITDA: INR4.77 billion (FY26)
p. 5
“The adjusted EBITDA stood at INR4.77 billion.”
Himanshu Agarwal, page 5 of the filed PDF · View the filing
EBITDA margin: 21% (FY26)
p. 5
“EBITDA margin stood at 21%, while our standalone adjusted EBITDA margin were at 24.6%.”
Himanshu Agarwal, page 5 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Gross margin: 70.8% (FY26)
p. 5
“Gross margin was at 70.8%.”
Himanshu Agarwal, page 5 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Capex: INR2.15 billion (FY26)
p. 5
“Capex during the year was INR2.15 billion.”
Himanshu Agarwal, page 5 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Free cash generated: INR1.73 billion (FY26)
p. 5
“Free cash generated in FY26 stood at INR1.73 billion.”
Himanshu Agarwal, page 5 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Formulation revenue impact from Nacharam disruption: INR610 million (FY26)
p. 4
“On the formulation side, revenues were impacted by approximately INR610 million during FY26 due to the temporary disruptions at our Nacharam site and the associated shipment deference.”
Gunjan Singh, page 4 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Niche tech share of revenue: 16.2% (FY26)
p. 6
“our niche tech as a percentage of revenue is 16.2% for the full year.”
Himanshu Agarwal, page 6 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Destocking impact from two commercial molecules: INR260 crore (FY26)
p. 6
“So from the contribution of the two large molecules, commercial molecules that we have seen destocking, as communicated earlier, the impact is around INR260 crore.”
Himanshu Agarwal, page 6 of the filed PDF · View the filing
One-off inventory provision: 195 million (FY26)
p. 6
“One is that we have taken a one-off inventory provision, which is around 195 million.”
Himanshu Agarwal, page 6 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Customer adjustment provision: 126 million (FY26)
p. 6
“we have also provided for certain customer adjustments, that is in the range of around 126 million.”
Himanshu Agarwal, page 6 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Phase 3 pipeline programs: 10 programs (FY26)
p. 3
“With two programs progressing towards commercialization, the total Phase 3 pipeline now stands at 10 programs.”
Yann D’Herve, page 3 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Active projects in Pharma CDMO standalone portfolio: more than 140 (FY26)
p. 2
“Overall, we have more than 140 active projects across the Pharma CDMO standalone portfolio, covering both development and commercial programs.”
Yann D’Herve, page 2 of the filed PDF · View the filing
What management said it would do
A record of statements made on the call, in the words management used. Parakho does not forecast, endorse or assess them, and their presence here is not a view on whether they will happen.
Q1 FY27 gross margin impact — 100 to 150 bps impact · Q1 FY27
stated firmly by Himanshu Agarwal
p. 5
“Q1 will experience impact of nearly 100 to 150 bps on our FY26 gross margin levels, largely on account of API Plus business.”
Himanshu Agarwal, page 5 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Capex — nearly INR3 billion · FY27
stated firmly by Himanshu Agarwal
p. 5
“We expect capex spend of nearly INR3 billion in FY27.”
Himanshu Agarwal, page 5 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Revenue and EBITDA growth — Q1 FY27
stated firmly by Himanshu Agarwal
p. 5
“Quarter 1 FY27 is to be low on both revenue and EBITDA, largely on account of revenue schedules skewed towards second half.”
Himanshu Agarwal, page 5 of the filed PDF · View the filing
EBITDA recovery — second half of FY27
stated conditionally by Himanshu Agarwal
p. 5
“Improvement in EBITDA should become visible in the second half as the volumes recover, order conversion improves, and product mix normalize.”
Himanshu Agarwal, page 5 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Business bottoming out — Q1 FY27 low point, recovery from H2 FY27
stated conditionally by Himanshu Agarwal
p. 5
“We believe the business is moving towards a bottoming out phase, with Q1 FY27 to be the low point.”
Himanshu Agarwal, page 5 of the filed PDF · View the filing
NJ Bio profitability timeline — more than two years
stated conditionally by Yann D’Herve
p. 10
“give us here a little bit more than two years to get back to this level.”
Yann D’Herve, page 10 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Specialty chemicals growth — FY28
stated conditionally by Amrit
p. 5
“FY27 will be a qualification and readiness year for parts of the portfolio, with supplies expected to build as customer programs progress, growth to return in FY28.”
Amrit, page 5 of the filed PDF · View the filing
New commercial molecule launches — two additional molecules · within the next 12-18 months
stated conditionally by Yann D’Herve
p. 10
“I confirm, right? Two have launched and we expect the two others to launch, of course, depending on the clinical performance and we expect these to be known within the next 12-18 months.”
Yann D’Herve, page 10 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Marketing expenses — FY27
stated firmly by Himanshu Agarwal
p. 12
“yes, we would see a reduction in the marketing expenses given that a part of the brand building has already been done.”
Himanshu Agarwal, page 12 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Q&A highlights
Management's answers to analyst questions, in Parakho's words rather than a transcript. Each row names who answered and carries the verbatim quote it was drawn from.
Management said it expects the destocked molecules to return in FY27 but could not yet quantify the amount, and confirmed orders received for four key starting materials on one new commercial product with revenue expected mostly in Q2 and Q3 FY27.
Answered by Himanshu Agarwal
Asked by Karthi: How much of the destocking-impacted revenue is likely to return in FY27, and what contribution is expected from the two newly commercialized products?
p. 6
“I can confirm to you that we are expecting these material, both these molecules to return back to us in FY27.”
Himanshu Agarwal, page 6 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Management described two large elements this year: a one-off inventory provision of around 195 million and customer adjustment provisions of around 126 million.
Answered by Himanshu Agarwal
Asked by Karthi: Can you break down the one-time expenses of roughly INR109 crore over the last two years?
p. 6
“One is that we have taken a one-off inventory provision, which is around 195 million.”
Himanshu Agarwal, page 6 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Management said API+ would recover first, followed by CDMO and then Specialty Chemicals, with Q1 weak and Q2 stable.
Answered by Himanshu Agarwal
Asked by Shyam Srinivasan: Beyond base effects, is there anything qualitative behind the expected second-half recovery, and can you rank the segments?
p. 7
“It would be API followed by CDMO and followed by Spec Chem.”
Himanshu Agarwal, page 7 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Management clarified growth would be measured year-on-year, and that recovery in the Phase 3 pipeline and molecules would take time to convert into revenue.
Answered by Himanshu Agarwal
Asked by Sajal Kapoor: When management refers to H2 growth, is that measured against the prior year or the higher FY25 base?
p. 8
“So first of all, the growth would be on a year-on-year basis.”
Himanshu Agarwal, page 8 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Management said Sapala has reload potential in Phase 2/3 to accelerate the business, while NJ Bio would need more than two years to return to prior profitability levels given the investment and validation timelines.
Answered by Yann D’Herve
Asked by Ashish: What is the timeline for NJ Bio and Sapala to help return consolidated margins to historical levels?
p. 10
“So this is where a lot of the value moving forward is. As such, it takes always some time here because it takes about one year to implement plus some time for validation and then being able to execute all the different programs here.”
Yann D’Herve, page 10 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Management said a large portion, over INR400 crore, was conversion expenditure, with the remaining roughly INR260 crore related to marketing/brand building and SG&A costs.
Answered by Himanshu Agarwal
Asked by Shreya Chatterjee: Can you break down the INR671 crore of other expenses for FY26?
p. 11
“Yes. So, of the large portion of that is the conversion expenditure, that is almost in the range of INR400 plus Crore.”
Himanshu Agarwal, page 11 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Management said the strategy is to expand the customer base and accelerate later-phase projects in the pipeline, noting the small molecule funnel had roughly doubled in six months.
Answered by Yann D’Herve
Asked by Chirag Shah: What is being done to prevent the revenue vacuum caused by the loss of two molecules from recurring?
p. 11
“We see good traction with strong funnel that has been multiplied by two essentially in the last six months with regard to small molecule that give us strong hope that we are going in the right direction here.”
Yann D’Herve, page 11 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Umang said governance is a paramount part of his role and he will spend time on it over the coming months.
Answered by Umang Vohra
Asked by Chirag Shah: Has Umang focused on corporate governance and information flow strengthening since joining?
p. 12
“I think as part of this role, the governance requirement is paramount and I will be spending time on that as well in the next few months.”
Umang Vohra, page 12 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Management said the settlement was purely commercial and there was no expected impact on revenue or the customer relationship.
Answered by Himanshu Agarwal
Asked by Sidharth Negandhi: What was the nature of the one-time customer settlement, and does it affect the relationship or future revenue?
p. 12
“the customer settlement is purely commercial and therefore given the nature of the settlement, we do not see any impact on the revenue or on the relationship with the customer.”
Himanshu Agarwal, page 12 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Risks flagged
Escalation in logistics, freight and raw material costs due to Middle East geopolitical uncertainty
p. 5
“Towards the end of Q4, uncertainties in the Middle East region led to escalation in logistics and freight cost, along with selective inflation in certain raw materials and key starting materials.”
Himanshu Agarwal, page 5 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Temporary disruption at the Nacharam formulation site affecting supply and shipments
p. 3
“The softer performance was due to product-specific factors, shipment delays, and temporary disruption at the Nacharam formulation site.”
Gunjan Singh, page 3 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Destocking and customer inventory adjustments in large commercial CDMO molecules
p. 2
“On small molecule, while FY26 was impacted by customer inventory adjustments, order phasing, and slower reloads, engagement with customers for both the large commercial products currently under destocking continues to remain steady.”
Yann D’Herve, page 2 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Historical customer and molecule concentration in the small molecule CDMO business
p. 9
“we have had by the past reliance on a few molecules, right, historically. And that is the reason why we are in the situation we are in today, especially on the small molecule side of the business of the CDMO business.”
Yann D’Herve, page 9 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Pricing pressure on select mature API molecules
p. 3
“While select mature molecules experienced pricing pressure, this was substantially mitigated through higher volumes, operating efficiencies, portfolio expansion, and focused cost actions.”
Gunjan Singh, page 3 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Weak performance by subsidiaries impacting operating margins
p. 5
“Operating margins were impacted by lower volumes, continued investment in business, and weak performance by subsidies.”
Himanshu Agarwal, page 5 of the filed PDF · View the filing
OLED business undergoing a product cycle transition
p. 4
“The OLED business is going through a product cycle transition.”
Amrit, page 4 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Generated by claude-sonnet-5. Source: the transcript as filed with BSE. We link to the exchange's copy; we do not host transcripts. Parakho is a data and screening tool, not an investment adviser — nothing here is a recommendation to buy, sell or hold.