GSK India and Pfizer India report strong Q2 profit gains

GSK India's profit rose 31% to Rs 335 crore, while Pfizer India's jumped 65.7% to Rs 313 crore, helped by a Rs 132 crore one-time gain.

Two drug-company subsidiaries listed in India reported September-quarter results on 3 November: GSK India posted a 31% rise in profit after tax to Rs 335 crore on revenue of Rs 1,180 crore, and Pfizer India's net profit rose 65.7% to Rs 313.25 crore, helped by a one-time gain of Rs 132.06 crore. The figures come from Kotak Neo's summaries of the companies' filings, and both are company-reported and not independently checked. The two quarters look alike in growth but differ in quality.

GSK India: broad growth across medicines and vaccines

GSK Pharmaceuticals India, or GSK India, said revenue grew 21% year on year to Rs 1,180 crore, and profit after tax rose 31% to Rs 335 crore. EBITDA, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, rose 20%. Profit before tax was Rs 460 crore, against Rs 322 crore in the June quarter and Rs 354 crore a year earlier. The shares closed at Rs 2,575.10 on 3 November, up 1.73% on the NSE.

The company said general medicines grew strongly as several established brands gained market share and new formulations launched. Vaccines kept growing, backed by the private paediatric market and rising awareness of adult vaccination, and sales of the shingles vaccine for older adults rose. Oncology gained momentum, and the company said it plans to enter haemato-oncology, the treatment of blood cancers, with the launch of BLENREP. The summary gives no further detail on that product, its approval status in India or its price.

Managing Director Bhushan Akshikar described a strategy to build a "science-led, innovation-focused business". He said the company will focus on oncology and adult vaccination launches, advance its late-stage pipeline and simplify operations. He also flagged inflation and supply-chain risks linked to the geopolitical environment, and said the company is diversifying sourcing and building contingency plans.

Pfizer India: a growth story with an asterisk

Pfizer Limited, as Pfizer India is formally known, reported standalone revenue of Rs 726.86 crore, up 13.2%, and net profit of Rs 313.25 crore, up 65.7%. The sharp rise in profit has a simple cause: an exceptional gain of Rs 132.06 crore. An exceptional item is a one-off gain or loss that a company reports separately because it is unlikely to repeat.

Kotak Neo says the gain relates to Pfizer Inc. discontinuing manufacture of Minipress XL from 7 September 2026, after which Pfizer Limited will receive a lump-sum payment. The summary does not describe the drug in any more detail, so a reader should not assume anything about patients or supply from this item; the company's filing is the place to look for how the product is being phased out.

Strip the gain out and the picture is steadier. Profit before tax before exceptional items was Rs 290.77 crore, up 13.9%. Including the gain it was Rs 422.83 crore. Earnings per share before the gain were Rs 47.09 against Rs 41.32, and Rs 68.47 after it. Other income was Rs 47.33 crore against Rs 41.85 crore, and total expenses rose to Rs 483.42 crore from Rs 428.82 crore.

For the six months to September, revenue was Rs 1,380.03 crore, up 10.8%, profit before tax before exceptional items was Rs 567.45 crore, up 10.2%, and net profit was Rs 517.72 crore, up 36%. Operating cash flow, the cash the business generated from its operations, fell to Rs 358.99 crore from Rs 599.47 crore, partly because of the timing of income tax payments. The shares closed at Rs 3,821.60 on 3 November, up 5.03% on the NSE.

Reading the two reports side by side

Both companies grew revenue by double digits, GSK faster at 21% and Pfizer slower at 13.2%. On profit, the headline numbers favour Pfizer, but the underlying growth, 13.9% before the gain, is lower than GSK's 31%. That is the main takeaway: compare profit growth after stripping one-offs, not before.

A caution on method is needed. GSK's summary reports profit after tax, while Pfizer's headline is net profit, and one is shown without a stated margin. The Kotak Neo pages are summaries; they do not publish margins for GSK, and they do not explain why GSK's profit before tax in the June quarter was lower. A reader who wants a like-for-like comparison would need the full filings.

What it means for patients, doctors and investors

For patients and doctors, these results are not about prices or supply. They show two big multinational subsidiaries investing in vaccines and cancer drugs in India, which in time can widen choice, but a launch plan is not an approval, and the sources do not report any regulatory decision. Shingles and adult vaccination are areas where uptake has been low, so growth from a small base is plausible, though the companies have not disclosed volumes.

For anyone following listed pharma, the main lesson is to read exceptional items. A 65.7% rise in profit can come from a lump-sum payment tied to a product's end of life, and the same company's underlying profit before tax rose about 14%. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell either stock.

The simulator below shows how a one-off gain moves reported growth. It uses Pfizer India's pre-gain profit before tax of Rs 290.77 crore, and derives last year's net profit from the reported 65.7% growth. The tax rate is set so the default matches the reported Rs 313.25 crore.

What is confirmed and what is not

Both sets of numbers are company-reported figures from stock-exchange filings, summarised by one outlet, Kotak Neo. They are unaudited quarterly results, and the pages do not mention the auditors' review. The pages do not give margins for GSK India, and they do not say how much of Pfizer India's revenue falls on any single product. No outside analyst view is quoted for either company, and no regulatory decision on BLENREP in India is mentioned. The Minipress XL item is described only through the company's own accounting note, so nothing can be said about patient impact. A reader who needs more should open the filings on the exchange website.

What to watch next

The full filings for both companies should give details on the Minipress XL arrangement and on cash flow. GSK India's BLENREP launch is the next dated item to follow, if the company gives a date and an approval, and the vaccine segment's growth will show whether adult immunisation is taking off. Other pharma subsidiaries are due to report in the coming days, which will show whether double-digit revenue growth is common across the sector.

Key takeaways

- GSK India's revenue rose 21% to Rs 1,180 crore and profit after tax rose 31% to Rs 335 crore in the September 2026 quarter. - Pfizer India's net profit rose 65.7% to Rs 313.25 crore, but only profit before tax before exceptional items, up 13.9%, shows the underlying trend. - A Rs 132.06 crore exceptional gain relates to Pfizer Inc. discontinuing Minipress XL manufacture from 7 September 2026. - Pfizer India's first-half operating cash flow fell to Rs 358.99 crore from Rs 599.47 crore, partly on the timing of tax payments. - GSK India plans to enter haemato-oncology with BLENREP, with no launch details in the summary read.

Sources

- [Kotak Neo: GSK India Q2 FY27 results, shares in focus](https://www.kotakneo.com/news/stocks/gsk-india-q2-fy27-results-shares-in-focus/) - [Kotak Neo: Pfizer India Q2 FY27 results, shares in focus](https://www.kotakneo.com/news/stocks/pfizer-india-q2-fy27-results-shares-in-focus/)

Tags: Pharma Quarterly results GSK India Pfizer India Vaccines