AstraZeneca India margin rebounds, but remains well below healthcare peers
Standalone revenue grew 30.41% year-on-year, while faster cost growth and a higher tax rate limited net-profit growth to 14.96%.
Filed 05 Nov 2026, 17:42 IST · after market close · Astrazeneca Pharma India Ltd (ASTRAZEN)
Key takeaways
- Standalone operating margin rebounded 5.94 percentage points sequentially as revenue rose 6.78% while expenses declined 0.05%.
- Year-on-year profit growth was limited to 14.96% because expenses grew 30.92%, faster than revenue growth of 30.41%, and the tax rate rose 4.02 percentage points.
- Operating margin at 13.11% remained 8.57 percentage points below the 21.68% median for 82 reported healthcare peers.
Price around the results
Sequential margin recovery lifts profit
AstraZeneca Pharma India’s standalone revenue grew 6.78% sequentially to Rs 729.1 cr, while expenses declined 0.05%. That operating leverage lifted operating margin by 5.94 percentage points to 13.11% and net profit by 64.33% to Rs 62.33 cr. Other income contributed only 0.18% of pre-tax profit, so the quarter’s profit was driven almost entirely by operations.
Year-on-year costs and tax held back earnings
Year-on-year revenue increased 30.41%, but expenses grew faster at 30.92%, narrowing operating margin by 0.34 percentage points. Interest expense rose 182.09% and depreciation increased 108.17%, adding pressure below operating profit. The tax rate also rose 4.02 percentage points to 29.56%, helping explain why net profit growth of 14.96% lagged operating-profit growth of 27.12%.
Margin is recovering after a volatile run
Operating margin fell from 15.41% in Q1FY26 to 7.33% in Q3FY26, before recovering to 10.53% in Q4FY26, 7.17% in Q1FY27 and 13.11% in Q2FY27. The latest sequential rebound is therefore meaningful, but the five-quarter pattern remains uneven rather than a straight improvement. At 13.11%, the company ranked 13th from the bottom among 82 healthcare peers that had reported, versus a sector median of 21.68%.
Results came after the market close
The standalone results were filed after market close, so there is no immediate market reaction to report. Across the stock’s eight previous result reactions, it rose three times and fell five times, with a median absolute move of 2.69%; the historical response has therefore more often been negative than positive, but the current quarter’s response remains pending.
Q2FY27 at a glance
Standalone figures as filed with NSE — cross-checked against an independent source.
| Line item | Q2FY27 | Q1FY27 | QoQ | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | ₹729 cr | ₹683 cr | +6.78% | +30.41% |
| Other income | ₹0 cr | ₹9 cr | -98.22% | -81.82% |
| Expenses | ₹634 cr | ₹634 cr | -0.05% | +30.92% |
| Operating profit | ₹96 cr | ₹49 cr | +95.28% | +27.12% |
| Operating margin (%) | 13.11% | 7.17% | — | — |
| Interest | ₹2 cr | ₹2 cr | -3.08% | +182.09% |
| Depreciation | ₹5 cr | ₹5 cr | +2.29% | +108.17% |
| Profit before tax | ₹88 cr | ₹51 cr | +74.36% | +21.52% |
| Tax | ₹26 cr | ₹13 cr | +104.06% | +40.65% |
| Net profit | ₹62 cr | ₹38 cr | +64.33% | +14.96% |
| EPS (₹) | ₹24.93 | ₹15.17 | +64.34% | +14.94% |
Operating margin of 13.11% compares with a Healthcare sector median of 21.68% across 82 peers that have reported Q2FY27.
What to watch
- Whether operating margin holds above 13.11% after the sequential rebound.
- Whether expenses continue to grow more slowly than revenue after the latest 0.05% sequential decline.
- Whether the tax rate moves below or remains near 29.56%.