1. Opening Hook
Global antibiotics are down, margins are bleeding, and Orchid Pharma just learnt the hard way that “holding inventory for better prices” is not a guaranteed life strategy. Q2 FY26 arrived with falling sales, collapsing margins, and a reminder that hope is not a business model.
Yet, just when things looked like another gloomy pharma quarter, management pulled out a plot twist — full global control of Enmetazobactam (Exblifep). From inventory pain to innovation gain, the call oscillated between brutal honesty and cautious optimism.
This wasn’t a call about growth. It was a call about survival, patience, and betting big on one molecule while the core business sulks.
Read on — because the real drama lies not in what fell, but in what might rise next.
2. At a Glance
- Revenue down 13% YoY – Antibiotics caught a global flu worse than patients.
- QoQ sales up 13% – Management celebrating recovery from rock bottom.
- Gross margin at 32% – Inventory revaluation did what competition couldn’t.
- EBITDA at ₹6 cr vs ₹14 cr QoQ – Margins took a sharper fall than export volumes.
- AMS drag ₹1.8 cr – Still burning cash, but now with purpose.
- Debt at ₹47 cr – Thankfully not the ₹1,000 cr Twitter imagined.
3. Management’s Key Commentary
“We decided not to chase volumes aggressively.”
(Translation: We tried to outsmart the cycle. The cycle outsmarted us. 😏)
“Prices did not recover, so we sold inventory at prevailing rates.”
(Translation: Hope expired, discounts
didn’t.)
“The antibiotics market is facing one of the worst downturns in a decade.”
(Translation: This is not just us — everyone is suffering, equally.)
“Exports from India fell 26% in volume and 36% in value.”
(Translation: Demand vanished faster than pharma optimism.)
“We have now acquired full global rights to Enmetazobactam.”
(Translation: One molecule, one shot at redemption. 💊)
“15,000 patients treated and 200,000+ vials sold in India.”
(Translation: At least doctors like it, even if markets don’t.)
“AMS division is an investment, not a cost.”
(Translation: Losses today, hospital dominance tomorrow.)
4. Numbers Decoded
Metric Q2 FY26 QoQ / YoY Take
---------------------------------------------------------
Revenue ₹194 cr YoY pain, QoQ relief
Gross Margin 32% Inventory hangover
EBITDA ₹6 cr Margin math failed
AMS Division Drag ₹1.8 cr Improving, still negative
Orblicef Patients 15,000 Doctor confidence rising
Debt ₹47 cr Calm, not chaos
- Margin collapse wasn’t structural — it was inventory + emerging market mix.
- AMS losses shrinking sharply from ₹6 cr earlier to ₹1.8
