Concord Biotech (NSE:CONCORDBIO) Q1 2027 Earnings Call

0:00 Ladies and gentlemen, good day, and welcome to Q1 FY 'twenty seven Earnings Conference Call of Concord Biotech Limited hosted by IIFL Capital. This conference call may contain forward looking statements about the company, which are based on beliefs, opinions and expectations of the company as on date of this call. These statements are not guarantee of future performance and involve risk and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. As a reminder, all difficult uncertainties predict. Please note that this conference is being recorded. I now hand over the conference to mister from IIFL Capital.

0:47 Thank you, and over to you, sir. Thank you. Good afternoon, everyone. On behalf of ISL Capital Services Limited, we welcome you all on q one five twenty seven earnings conference call of Concord Biotech Limited. We will begin the call with opening commentary from mister Ankur, Joint Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, followed by a Q and A session. Thank you, and over to you, sir. Thank you, and a warm welcome to our Q1 FY 'twenty seven earnings conference call. Along with me, I have Raviraj, CFO Prakash Sajnani, AVP Finance for Concord Biotech and SGA, our Investor Relations partners.

1:35 We are pleased to report a strong start to FY twenty twenty seven with Q1 FY twenty twenty seven revenues of INR $2.57 crores, reflecting a healthy 26% year on year growth. As discussed previously, FY 'twenty six was a challenging year for Concord. We encountered multiple headwinds, including shifts in customer buying patterns, delays in obtaining Cedesco approval and tariff related uncertainties that impacted customer procurement decisions for both current and future supplies. However, these challenges are not new to us. We have demonstrated in the past that we can successfully navigate similar situations and emerge stronger.

2:25 FY 'twenty seven has begun on a positive note with a robust first quarter performance. We remain confident of sustaining this momentum over the coming quarters on the back of business visibility in pipeline. Our confidence is underpinned the strength of our long term growth strategy, our niche capabilities in fermentation based products and our leadership position in key molecules in which we operate. These competitive strengths continue to position us well to capitalize on emerging opportunities and drive sustainable growth. Speaking of green shoots and highlights of our current quarter, growth in Q1 FY 'twenty seven was broad based with healthy contributions across our key product categories, including immunosuppressants, anti infectives, oncology and antifungals rather than being driven by any single segment.

3:31 We continue to strengthen our relationships with existing customers, resulting in increased wallet share, higher market share and growth that outpaced the broader industry. During the quarter, we onboarded multiple new customers while also engaging in advanced discussions with several large customers for long term and consistent product supplies. Our export business remains a key growth driver with export revenues increasing 46% year on year in Q1 FY twenty twenty seven. This growth was broad based across geographies, supported by rising inquiries from customers in major regulated and semi regulated markets.

4:19 The strengthening of our global regulatory approvals and compliance framework over the past year has significantly expanded our addressable market. In addition to the regulatory approvals received during FY twenty twenty six, we successfully completed inspection by Envisa Brazil for our Lembati facility and PPB Kenya and NDA Uganda for Unit two formulation facility at Valthera. These approvals enhance our ability to deepen our presence in existing markets while expanding into new geographies. During the quarter, we received ANDA approvals from U. S. FDA for mycophenolate mafotri suspension and tofacitinib tablets.

5:09 These approvals combined with our strong relationship with marquee customers provide a meaningful runway for future growth. We have also successfully launched and commercialized fucidic acid in FY twenty twenty six, which is expected to contribute meaningfully to revenue growth during the current and next financial year. Our product pipeline remains robust with plans to launch two to three new products annually. There are a couple of products which are at advanced stages of development and we expect commercialization of these products in the coming quarters. This steady pipeline supported by our R and D capabilities and regulatory expertise is expected to create a strong foundation for sustainable long term growth.

6:04 Another key milestone during the quarter was the commencement of commercial operations and sales through StellOn Biotech, our front end distribution platform for formulation products in The U. S. While the business is currently at a nascent stage, we believe it has the potential to become a meaningful contributor to our growth over the coming years. Our injectable facility is also witnessing encouraging progress. Customer engagements and commercial discussions are at advanced stages and as facility scales up, we expect to contribute to both revenue growth and margin expansion. On the sustainability front, we are pleased to share that Concord has been awarded a silver medal by EcoVadis for its sustainability performance, placing us amongst the top 15% companies assessed globally.

7:05 This recognition reflects our continued commitment to responsible and sustainable business practices. Over the years, Concord has established itself as a leading research driven biopharmaceutical company with deep expertise in fermentation technology. Our continued focus on scientific excellence, process innovation and operational discipline has enabled us to develop differentiated products, enhance manufacturing efficiencies and consistently deliver value to our stakeholders. These trends have positioned Concord among the leading global manufacturers of fermentation based APIs and reinforced our leadership in this highly specialized segment.

7:57 At Concord, we have remained committed to staying at the forefront of this evolution through sustained investment in research and development, manufacturing excellence and regulatory compliance. Our strong technical capabilities, globally approved manufacturing facilities and long standing customer relationships have enabled us to strengthen our presence across international markets and established ourselves as a trusted partner to leading global biopharmaceutical companies. As we look ahead, we remain focused on building a future ready organization by expanding our product portfolio, strengthening our customer base and creating sustainable long term value for our stakeholders.

8:48 With that, I will now hand over the call to Raviraj, who will take you through the financial highlights for the quarter ended June 2026. Thank you. Thank you, sir, and good afternoon, everyone. Let me take you through the financial performance for the quarter one financial year twenty six-twenty seven. Revenue for Q1 FY 'twenty seven stood at INR $2.57 crores compared to INR $20.04 crores in the Q1 FY 'twenty six, a growth of 26.2. Revenue from API segment stood at INR $2.19 crores, a growth of 42%. Formulation revenue stood at INR 39 crores with a degrowth of 23%.

9:39 However, as we have highlighted previously, Concord's performance is best evaluated on the basis of its overall business growth rather than the individual performance of API and formulation segments. Our strategy is to optimize the value creation across the business whenever the opportunity exists that are not addressable through APIs, will leverage our formulation capabilities with the corresponding API requirements being sourced internally. As a result, the mix between APIs and formulations may vary from quarter to quarter, but our focus remains on maximizing overall growth across the products, customers and geographies while delivering sustainable value for the business.

10:31 Domestic revenue for quarter one FY 'twenty six grew by 12% sorry, domestic revenues for Q1 FY 'twenty seven grew by 12% and export revenues grew by 46%. Gross margins for the quarter stood at 78.9%, an increase of 100 bps Y o Y. The improvement in the gross margin reflects a strong pricing discipline, favorable product mix and limited competitive intensity across our key product categories. EBITDA for Q1 FY 'twenty seven stood at INR 82 crores, a growth of 34% and EBITDA margin stood at 32%, an increase of 190 bps year on year.

11:23 EBITDA, excluding the impact of injectable facilities and expenses related to the Stellone Biotech, would have been 37% for the Q1 FY 'nineteen. As the indexable facilities ramps up, we are optimistic of sustaining our historical margins. Speaking of profit after tax, the PAT for the quarter stood at INR 58 crores, a growth of 31% year on year. PAT margins for the quarter stood at 22.4%, an increase of 80 bps year on year. Lastly, we are a zero date company and with cash and cash equivalent of more than INR $4.42 crores as on June 30, our CapEx for the quarter stood at around INR 9.5 crores.

12:14 With this, I would like to open the floor for questions and answers. Thank you. Thank you very much. We will now begin the question and answer session.. The first question is from the line of Parth from Treenetra Asset Manager. Proceed. So, yes, am I audible? Yes.

13:01 So first of all, thank you for the opportunity. And my question is, like, the API business has recovered strongly this quarter with exports growing around 46%. Could you... And overall business is also... Has also grown with a good set of growth rate. So could you help us understand how much of this reflects normalization of delayed customer procurement versus the structural means such as the market share expansion or stronger underlying demand. Additionally, should we expect this growth trajectory to sustain through the rest of FY 'twenty seven? Sure. So as we've mentioned previously that the customer procurement patterns from the quarter four of last year was spilled over into subsequent quarters. So yes, there has been some contribution coming from that in this quarter, but we expect subsequent quarters also to be of having similar kind of spillovers.

14:09 It will be difficult for us to quantify each and every number there. But yes, much of the growth for Concord in this quarter has been from the new products, which are where we've been selling the products and has been across geographies. So not only, say, The U. S. Geography has grown, but the sales has grown across all the markets, be it Europe, Japan, LatAm and all. So this is more of a growth across all segments and across all geographies, while some bit of contribution is from the spillover from the last quarter. Coming to the growth, as I've mentioned in the call that we have a good sense of visibility also for the coming quarter and we are on track to have the growth as mentioned earlier better than what the historical growth rates have been. So we stand on track to achieving growth better than our historical growth rates.

15:22 Okay. Got it. And my one more question. Like last quarter, you mentioned that existing manufacturing infrastructure has the potential to support nearly INR 3,000 crore of revenue. So could you help us understand the roadmap to achieve that scale? Like specifically, what proportion do you expect to come from expansion in the core API versus injectables, formulation, CDMO and new product launches? And over what time horizon do you see this opportunity materializing? So we expect that around INR 600 crores to INR 700 crores is going to be from the formulation business. And the rest of the growth is going to be the balance INR 2,200 crores from the APIs. And we have the infrastructure to address this opportunity because in the injectables as you in the formulations as you would see that the injectables is not contributing significantly because it was just commercialized last year. So there is an ample amount of growth that we see from the injectables.

16:32 And also in the oral solid side, we have added the softgel facility and also continue to see capacity utilization for the new products that we have launched in The U. S. And in other markets given the ANDA approvals also that we have got and the ones that we are awaiting approvals in this year or so. And on the API front, as you would see that the capacity utilization for Unit three has been close to around 50%, 55%. And again there is ample amount of capacity that is available to address the growth that we see from the overall API business.

17:18 So I would say that capacities are there, capabilities are there and we also have a robust pipeline of products to meet these capacities. As we have mentioned that this is more of a long term vision of the company that to go to the 3,000 crores to achieve the full scale of the facility that we have. And I would say in a matter of five to six years, we expect that we should be pretty close to achieving that number because given the CAGR growth rate that we have spoken in the past, we should be pretty close to achieving the INR 3,000 crore number. Got it. Got it. Thank you so much for the opportunity and all the best. Thank you.

18:10 Thank you. The next question is from the line of from Antipagile Thinking. Please proceed. Yeah. Hi. Thank you for giving me this opportunity. Concord, across CDMO injectables and Stellant, which one has earned the the right to receive the most management attention today? And what evidence has earned that? So all the three segment units, as you would see, are relatively at a nascent stage, and they are all equally exciting opportunities for us.

19:03 If you would see Celan with the launch of the ANDA approvals that we have got and also some of the products that we've got approvals, but we awaited for Stellon to fully commercialize, we see good amount of growth coming from Stellon in the coming time. So and Stellon is not only going to be marketing Concord's products, but is also going to be in licensing products from third parties to market it in The U. S. So it is purely going to be a U. S. Driven business that we're going to be focused on and we have the right people to kind of address those opportunities. If you see the injectable business, of course, the quantum there is relatively large because the facility can do close to INR600 crores of top line there.

19:53 And we are the only integrated company right from fermentation API to finished product in India. So the addressable market is large and also we are the only company which is fully integrated. So we have the right to win in this specific case and the facility also has been built as per global quality standard. So we are now taking all the right steps in the right direction. WHO GMP has said we have got the validation batches completed, customer audits are going on, already discussions are going on with those customers. So we are taking the right steps in the right direction. And definitely, it's an exciting phase for us when it comes particularly to the injectable business.

20:43 On the CDMO front, as you would know that there are very few companies globally, which are having the kind of expertise in the fermentation space like Concord. And within India, Concord has the kind of capacities to address these CDMO opportunities in the fermentation space. But of course, it takes a lot of time to kind of have the CDMO projects commercialized, from discussing with the customers all the way to execution of it. So it's a time consuming process, but our efforts are being there to kind of convert those opportunities.

21:28 We have one opportunity, which we've already commercialized, and there are a couple of those which are in the pipeline, which we expect that at least one of them should happen in this year. So we are pretty excited for all the three opportunities, and they're all in very different segments. So it will be difficult for us to kind of pick one of those. No, that's very thoughtful. Thank you for that. And we know that ours is a net cash balance sheet. We have been consistently reporting positive operating cash flow. So in that context, what is specific evidence over the next, say, twelve to eighteen months would make you accelerate each of these three initiatives and vice versa, what evidence would force you to pull back?

22:23 No, sir. I don't think that there is anything that would make us pull back on any of these opportunities that we spoke about. Of course, cash on hand is a separate matter and we are looking at different avenues for we're looking at different avenues to kind of how do we use the cash on hand. We are looking at different inorganic growth strategies also and also organically what kind of agencies that we can build on within the fermentation space. So from an investment standpoint, I think we have made enough investments in all these three verticals because CDMO is a fungible asset that is that can be used between our APIs as in the CDMO.

23:13 And as I mentioned, injectables is the newer facility. So the cash on hand that we have would be looked at from utilizing for growth in agencies organically or inorganically, and we're exploring both of those two. Very helpful. Thank you so much for all the responses. And thank you. Thank you. The next question is from the line of Siddharth from CWC. Please proceed. Hi. Congrats on a good quarter to you and the Concord team. A few questions. One, if you could share the capacity utilization across all the units. The second was on understanding...

23:59 You said that the growth was broad based across immuno and non immuno APIs, but if you could give us some understanding of the immuno ONCO, and other API savings. The third is given that you've been talking about the CDMA opportunity starting up, is is there a possibility of understanding what is the revenue contribution currently? And, you know, you'd guide it to broadly around one to two percent. What what could we look at there, right, in this quarter and in the coming quarters? And the fourth one was on domestic formulations. Right? There seems to be a little bit of a challenge this quarter. If you could throw some color on that.

24:49 So, sir, let Raghurad address the capacity utilization. So, the capacity utilization for Unit one was around 80%. For Unit three, as Praj mentioned, it is around 55%. Unit two was around 35%. Sorry, how much? 25%. Okay. So on the other point, as I mentioned that we have seen growth across all segments. So while on we have grown on value base for all the segments and all segments have grown by double digits growth, particularly the anti infective and the oncology segment has seen a higher growth compared to, say, in terms of percentage, if I talk about, compared to the immunosuppressant.

25:49 So while immunosuppressant has also grown, but anti infectives and oncology have grown much, much more than the rest of the segments. And there are products like Nystatin and other products where we are seeing good traction and also this is just one of the products that I wanted to highlight, but other products as well are seeing a good traction. So that was the reason why I mentioned that it's been across all products and all segments. Talking about CDMO business, yes, currently, it would be at around 1% to two percent, but our intent is to kind of bring it to a double digit contributor to the overall sales numbers.

26:38 And we are kind of working towards that. As mentioned earlier that we have a couple of products that are at advanced stage, we continue to engage with other customers as well through the RFQ RFP on these fermentation CDMO opportunities. So definitely it's a piece of business that we are very much focused on building in years to come. With respect to the domestic formulation business, the domestic formulation business in quarter one of last year had a contribution to the Middle East supplies. And that is something that did get impacted going forward. So there was a contribution, which was built in, in the domestic sales, which was not the case in this specific quarter. So if we take out the if we take out that portion of it, then our domestic business has grown by double digit numbers for the for both the two divisions, which is the intra division, which is the nephrology division as well as INCA division, which is our critical care division. So you see that degrowth only on account of the domestic sales done for the Middle East supplies.

28:07 Got it. Got it. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. The next question is from the line of Alok Daral from J. Freeze India Private Limited. Please proceed. Yes. Hi. Good afternoon and thank you for taking my questions. First question is on constant currency growth. What is the Y o Y constant currency growth for the company? So, you have seen that the ForEx movement in terms of dollar has been around 10% to 12% compared to the last year. However, when we see that we also have an impact of the input cost on certain aspects.

28:57 So net net, if you see, it is historically 3% to 4% currency growth that we have. But this year, it was around 10%. However, savings there are impacts of the input cost. So net net, you will see 3% to 4% of up to 5% of the impact into the currency rate. Which is slowing down to the EBITDA. Yes. Okay. Up to 5%. Yes. Okay. Alright. Concord, also in the press release, you mentioned higher wallet share gains during the quarter. So what did the what was the main driver for that? Was it pricing? Was it some competitor having some disruption?

29:43 Can you help understand that? So it was primarily driven by pricing. And because as you would see that we have built almost twelve fifty meter cube of fermentation capacity. So based on the economies of scale, based on our expertise, we have a good grip on the pricing. And that advantage we've been price benefit based on that we've shared it with our customers. So even by giving a competitive pricing to that of our competitor, we are still able to maintain our healthy profitability margins. But the seeds of many of these discussions have been sown maybe eight, ten, twelve months what we are seeing right now. So those conversions are what we see being executed in this specific quarter.

30:39 And this has been purely a price advantage game that we have based on which we've been able to gain this wallet share. Of course, there are softer aspects also because when we are working with them on couple of fermentation products, we become like their fermentation partner. So but those are the softer aspects with two kind of play out, but the primary reason for the change is the price. Okay. And just to better understand this, these are with respect to new launches or even the existing traditional products, you've taken pricing advantage and gain wallet share? Again, primarily this would be with respect to the existing products.

31:28 The newer products that we see, of course, we have been able to convert many of those customers to Concord, but the quantum to that may not be as high when it comes to being reflected at the overall level. That is something that we would see in the coming quarters or so because that's just the addition that has happened, maybe like a validation batch quantities that we would have given. So much of it is basically on the existing products. Okay. And last one is amongst the new products that you would have launched over the last two years, would you like to call out or identify any products which has seen meaningful scale and reasons behind it?

32:14 So, I mentioned, Listatin definitely is a product that is doing very well for us. And are fucidic acid is something that we have launched in this year. So this is primarily a Europe product. It's not a U. S. Product, but it is again a very niche, large volume product with limited players in the market. So we continue to kind of make inroads into the emerging markets and once we get a CEP approval for the product, that's when we will see supply happening to the European market. So, these two products that we have launched are again interesting products with limited competition where we can see meaningful growth coming in on specific to these two products.

33:10 Okay, sure. And sorry, one last one. On the margin, so Concord, you mentioned that FY 2027, the growth will be better than the historical growth rate of the company. In terms of EBITDA margin, should we expect the company to reach that 40% mark by end of this year? So, based on the operating leverage coming in and also the sustainable the renewables that energy that we have, both these two playing up, we expect the EBITDA margin to be better off than our sales growth numbers. But in order to reach to the 40%, we need to have the injectable facility and still on business fully ramping up, which we expect that partial amount of that would happen. So we would be towards that journey of reaching 40%.

34:06 But within this year, it probably it may get spilled over slightly to the next year based on the utilizations of the new injectable facility. Already now we are on that positive moment because much of the expenses had already been built in the last year. So any utilizations coming in is only going to be improving the EBITDA margins from here. Understood. So more towards FY 'twenty eight is when you move towards that 40% mark? That's correct. Yes, sure. Okay. Thank you and all the best. Thank you. Thank you. The next question is from the line of from IIM Capital Limited.

34:52 Please proceed. Thank you. Thanks. One question on injectable plant. By when do we expect to commercialize this plant? And by when do we expect, let's say, supplies to export markets from this plant? So the plant is already commercialized. We have taken exhibit batches from this site, already batches are on stability and for certain market filings are also taking place. Getting the approvals in the emerging markets is a twelve to fifteen month process. So we expect that by next year, sales to the emerging markets would start.

35:41 However, prior to that, our focus would be that how can we maximize utilization of this facility through the domestic market, which itself has a considerable amount of opportunity for the kind of products that we are working on. So and that could be addressed not only by supplies through our own branded generics, but also become like a contract partner for some of the larger companies for these products. As I mentioned in my opening remarks that we are the only company which is integrated right from API to formulations. So definitely there is an advantage that we can give to our customers even for the India market. And given the opportunity is sizable, that's how we are looking at the first year or two focus mostly on domestic front before the emerging market opens up for us.

36:37 And does the sales start, let's say, for the domestic market? I mean, I'm my understanding was that it has not yet, let's say, started from this plant. If you could please provide color on that. So we have already started the sales from this facility when it comes to our own in house to our own branded generics products. So many of those products are being made in house rather than earlier being sourced from third parties. However, for the contract manufacturing for third parties, we have already started discussions with those customers. For some companies, audits have also happened.

37:24 So we are at advanced stages of discussion with those customers to have them onboarded. But again, it's a process that we are going through. So we expect that in second half of the year, we should see some of those opportunities being commercialized. Okay. So could you highlight what will be the capacity utilization during the quarter or let's say the sales number for the injectable plant? Injectable plant? Injectables? Yes. It is around 5%. 5%. Okay. Okay. And at what capacity utilization can we achieve, let's say, EBITDA breakeven? Let me come back to you on that.

38:13 So far, I don't have the number with me, but I can come back to you. Okay. Second, on the CDMO offtake, if you could provide any color on the commercialized, let's say, so one project we have commercialized is the animal health space. So are we seeing any strong traction or what have been, let's say, our interaction with the customer on this product? Yes. So currently, we're doing a couple of million dollar sales to the customer. But we expect that to increase because, again, this is a new product. And currently, other than this product, there is no product to address that disease.

39:11 So being an NDA product, which was just launched with Concord, they are kind of building up that market. So I would say it would be a slow and steady market share gain for the particular product. So they are doing their marketing efforts. Team has been built in The U. S. Is what I understand from them. And directionally, are taking those steps. So currently, I would say it's a couple of billion dollars, but the potential could be sizable and that market needs to be developed, which they are in the process of doing so. Currently, are selling only in Europe, right? Sorry? Currently, they are selling only in Europe.

39:57 In U. S. It's a U. S. Product Okay. It is in The U. S, and they are extending it to other markets, let's say, like Europe or the Canada market? Currently, their focus is on The U. S. Right now because, as I mentioned, building up the team and putting their efforts to kind of build that market, which they're trying to address that opportunity. So I think maybe as Phase II, once The U. S. Stabilizes, they will take it to other products. But right now, it is primarily being focused on The U. S. Market. Okay. One more on this U. S. Market. I mean, just few days back, again, if you heard, there's 100% kind of tariffs on generics two years from now, right?

40:45 Any, let's say, color in terms of whether this, you know, gets impacted again in terms of, let's say, API sales as well. We have not heard anything from our customers on any of the concerns on this. Okay. Okay. And lastly, on capital allocation, given that we are a mid cash company, given that we have the capacity to generate, let's say, 3,000 crores of revenue, do we expect increase our dividend payout for any, let's say, acquisition in the pipeline?

41:33 So yes, historically, we've been paying out dividends. And of course, the other options are there, which is growth organically and inorganically, which we were discussing. So, we are exploring both the two options of growing organically and inorganically in the agencies of fermentation. So all the three options are there on the table. Okay. I'll get back in the queue. Thank you. Thank you. The next question is from the line of Alankar from Kotak Institutional Equities. Please proceed.

42:22 Hi. Good afternoon, everyone. Ankur, you spoke about reaching 2,200, 2,300 crore API sales in the next five to six years. That's on your current capacity. Looking at the overall supply demand outlook and given that you have ample scope to do brownfield expansion at Limbasi, Broadly, when would you start thinking about API CapEx to support growth beyond the next four to five years? So I think once the utilization levels reach to around 80%, 85%, I think at the Unit 3, I think probably that will be a time to kind of add more capacities at Unit 3. And out of the 160 acres that we have at Unit 3, we've only utilized 20, 25% of the land. So we have enough space to kind of add capacities there.

43:17 So it would be purely based on the capacity utilization and whether that gets used for our own products, whether it gets used for CDMO projects because both are fungible in nature. So closer to around 80%, 85% is I believe we would take that decision. Sometimes there are certain products which require a separate dedicated fermentation capabilities. And if that case arises, then probably it could be case specific that we would need to put up those capacities. Can you talk about, Concord, certain dedicated requirements, right? I mean, were you alluding to the point you made earlier on exploring growth organically as well as inorganically in adjacencies of fermentation?

44:12 And if you can help elaborate on that statement, which adjacencies are you looking at? So, of course, if you see that, yes, the answer is yes. Capacity is if we intend to put earlier than the 8085% would be towards growth in agencies. There are agencies such as peptides, veterinary products, other kind of products, which need somewhat of a dedicated fermentation capabilities. So those could be some of the areas where we could if we would require, we would need to set up those capacities.

44:59 Got it. The second question is, in the past you have spoken about your increasing engagement with innovators where you are positioning yourself as a secondary and maybe eventually a primary supplier of of patent APIs. Can you share any details, any updates on that kind? So we continue to work with the innovators. You know, we've added... Last year, we added two customers. We have couple more projects on which we are working on, which I would say are relatively progressing well. And I would say that maybe by the end of this year should be at either at advanced stage to closure. So yes, we our relationship with our customers, which have been longstanding help us to kind of engage more with those innovator customers.

45:55 And given our scale, capacity that we have and our expertise and the comfort that they get with Concord on working on such fermentation products helps us to kind of gain those opportunities. So we continue to work with them and also for the newer products that we launched, the intent is that at some given point of time, we should be able to reach out to those innovators for these products. So that's how things are progressing on our engagement with the innovators. Got it. Other question was, if we adjust for The Middle East and the lost sales there, even then the formulation sales have been a bit weak. And you gave some explanation in your opening remarks, I'm not sure I fully followed that.

46:47 Can you just help explain the reasons for the ex Middle East formulation sales decline? So certain opportunities, what we mentioned was that there are certain opportunities, which if we are able to address via the API, we would prefer to address those opportunities via the API rather than the formulation. However, if we are unable to gain those opportunities via the API route, then one the ways to address those would be through utilizing our formulation capacities. So that is what we meant to certain markets where we are not making inroads through APIs and formulation is the way.

47:34 But say, for example, in Middle East, certain customers this quarter were able to procure the API rather than the formulation. So instead of the formulation strategy, because of the challenges that they had with the formulation, some of those customers did procure the API because API has a relatively longer shelf life, so they get more flexibility in terms of when to kind of manufacture the formulation and cater to those markets. So some of those kind of became more towards API and hence it had an impact on the formulation. But if you see from an overall perspective for that particular market and for that particular product, at the API level we grew, but instead of formulations we grew by the API.

48:28 That's how what we meant by that. Got it. One final follow-up here, Is the ramp up of external domestic sales from the injectables facility in line with your initial expectations? So the initial expectation, even last year, as you would see, got delayed by a couple of quarters. So the delay that's happened has been what we saw in the last year. But I think this year, beginning of this year, we are pretty much on track in terms of how we would want to be and where we would want to be. Those delays that happened were primarily on account of getting the inspections and the approvals, which is again a time consuming process, but yes, there were some delays there.

49:20 And also the facility qualification took slightly longer than what we would have wanted it to, but that's okay. I think the first step is always the important step and the most critical step. But going forward after that, I think we are pretty much on track. Thank you. The next question is from the line of Ritika Girwal from ValueQuest. Please proceed. Hi, sir. Thank you for taking my question and congratulating some good numbers for the quarter. My question is on scale up of API revenues that you've talked about to 2,200 crore by next five to six years, and you've clearly mentioned that they're not looking to add capacity for the same. So could you help us explain how are we looking at more than doubling the current revenues in this segment when the utilizations are... Unit one already at 78% and unit two at 55% utilization rates?

50:30 So if you look at the 55% also, some part of it does get utilized for manufacturing of KSMs as well, which we can source from third parties also and manufacture ourselves. And there are product ramp ups that are happening with respect to nystatin or fucetic acid because again, these are all anti infective products, which are taken only at Unit three. Also, going forward, barring the oncology products, we have eight to 10 products, which are there in the pipeline and of which maybe around two or three products are in the ONCO segment, all the other products are in anti infectives and antifungal.

51:16 So all these products are going to get added into the Unit 3 facility only. At the oncology products, which are there, while they would be significantly contributing to the top line, but all those are manufactured, say, in a 5,000 liter fermenter. So when you look at from a capacity utilization perspective, you will see that the capacity utilization would have marginally increased, say, from 75% to 76%. But the contribution from Unit one oncology facility would be significantly larger. So at times, capacity utilization also is not a true reflection of what the revenue could get generated from that because certain oncology products could generate larger value revenue compared to other products. But if we combine all those and we look holistically, yes, both the two facilities combined together, given our existing products as well as our pipeline products have the capability to reach to INR 2,200 crores.

52:17 Got it, sir. Follow-up would be current excluding the KSMs that you talked about from unit three, excluding that our current capacity utilization for unit three should be 20, 25%. Would that probably be correct? Should be slightly higher than that, but I can come back to you on the... That number post call. Sure. Sure, sir. That's it from me. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, due to time constraints, that was the last question for today. I now hand over the conference to management for closing comments. Over to you, sir. Thank you. So thank you everyone for joining on our FY twenty seven Q1 earnings call.

53:07 We hope we've been able to address all your queries. For any further information, please get in touch with us or SGA, our Investor Relations adviser. Thank you once again. Have a good evening. Thank you. On behalf of IFFL Capital Services Limited, that concludes this conference. Thank you for joining us, and you may now disconnect your lines. Thank you.