Arch Pharmalabs Ltd
Mumbai API and intermediates maker that grew from a $2 million Hyderabad plant in 1999 to about ₹1,344 Cr of revenue — but has been in corporate insolvency since May 2024 after a decade of debt restructuring. Shares trade off-market at a stale ₹85 UnlistedZone quote while the resolution process plays out.
Market cap
₹1,330 Cr
15.65 Cr shares
P/E ratio
10.90
Sector average 25
Book value
₹19.59
P/B 4.34
1-year return
-10.99%
52w ₹85 – ₹99
Currently 2% of the way through its 52-week range.
Indicative price history
1Y change
-10.99% ₹95 → ₹85
52-week band in this window: ₹83.20 – ₹95.49. Weekly indicative marks, not exchange-traded prices.
Key highlights
- Mumbai API, intermediates and CRAMS maker founded by Ajit Kamath; CIN U24231MH1993PLC150891, ISIN INE182F01017, about 15.65 Cr shares of ₹10.
- FY23 revenue about ₹1,344 Cr, EBITDA about ₹183 Cr, PAT about ₹122 Cr (registry extracts); no FY24/FY25 accounts found.
- In corporate insolvency since 15 May 2024 (Bank of Baroda petition, claim ₹135 Cr); JM Financial ARC holds 74.85% of the CoC; plans invited April 2025, outcome unknown.
- UnlistedZone rate ₹85 is dated 17 Sep 2021; Planify ₹84.74 (Jun 2026), sbnri ₹99 (May 2025), wwipl ₹90.10 (2023). Implied market cap about ₹1,330 Cr.
About Arch Pharmalabs
Arch Pharmalabs Limited (CIN U24231MH1993PLC150891, RoC Mumbai) is a Mumbai-headquartered manufacturer of active pharmaceutical ingredients and advanced intermediates, with a contract research and manufacturing (CRAMS) arm serving innovator and generic pharmaceutical companies in India and abroad. Founded by chartered accountant Ajit Kamath, who remains Chairman and Managing Director, the company started operations in 1999 by buying a Hyderabad plant with about $2 million of turnover and, through a string of acquisitions of API and intermediate units in Maharashtra and Telangana, grew to roughly $300 million of revenue within twelve years. It also holds about 45% of listed API maker Avon Lifesciences. Its headquarters are at Arch House, Marol Maroshi Road, Andheri East.
The growth was debt-funded. By 2013 a consortium of banks with about ₹1,800 Cr of exposure referred the account to the corporate debt restructuring (CDR) cell, Business Standard reported lenders asking the company to explain why it should not be classed a wilful defaulter, and a planned IPO never materialised; Japanese trading house Mitsui & Co, once a key investor, later exited and the company was reported to be seeking a strategic investor. Data aggregators still carry a legacy BSE scrip code (524729) against the name, but there is no active exchange quote and dealer platforms treat the shares as unlisted.
On 15 May 2024 the NCLT Mumbai bench admitted Bank of Baroda's Section 7 petition (claim about ₹135 Cr) and placed the company in corporate insolvency resolution (CIRP). Sanjay Garg was interim resolution professional; by an NCLT order of 27 February 2025 he was replaced by Anshul Gupta as resolution professional. JM Financial Asset Reconstruction Company holds about 74.85% of the committee of creditors' voting share (Bank of Baroda 1.54%). Invitations for resolution plans went out on 31 March and 8 April 2025 with last dates of 15 and 23 April 2025; no approved resolution plan, liquidation order or named resolution applicant was found by 10 October 2026, so the outcome — and therefore what, if anything, equity holders receive — is unknown.
Financially the last clear figures are for FY23: dealer and registry extracts show revenue of about ₹1,344 Cr, EBITDA of about ₹183 Cr and profit after tax of about ₹122 Cr (FY22: revenue ₹1,314 Cr, PAT ₹52 Cr); TheCompanyCheck's USD figures (revenue $161.6 M, EBITDA $21.6 M, net profit $14.7 M) match. Screener's older consolidated series, however, shows negative return ratios (RoE about −39%) and a year with a pre-tax loss of about ₹486 Cr from the CDR era, so the balance sheet carries a legacy of write-offs and the net worth is not reliably known. No FY24 or FY25 accounts were found; filings are likely to have lapsed during CIRP.
Rate and valuation: the user-supplied UnlistedZone page quotes ₹85 per share, but the quote is dated 17 September 2021 and the site states it is indicative. Other dealers show ₹84.74 (Planify, 27 June 2026), ₹90.10 (wwipl, last traded, July 2023) and ₹99 (sbnri, May 2025). The board rate here is UnlistedZone's ₹85 as instructed, with the caveat that it is five years old. On about 15.65 Cr shares of ₹10 (wwipl; sbnri shows 15.19 Cr) the implied market capitalisation is roughly ₹1,330 Cr — about 11 times FY23 profit — but in an insolvency the equity's recovery depends entirely on the resolution plan, and most CIRP plans extinguish or heavily dilute existing shareholders.
Verification status (10 Oct 2026): CIN, registered office, ISIN, the CIRP admission (15 May 2024), creditor claims and voting shares, RP replacement and plan-invitation dates are from the IBBI public process pages and NCLT order listings. FY22–FY23 revenue, EBITDA and PAT are dealer/registry extracts (sbnri, TheCompanyCheck), not audited reports read directly. The incorporation day/month, expense and tax lines, balance-sheet composition, cash flows, headcount and the promoter percentage are estimates; share count 15.65 Cr is from wwipl. No annual report could be downloaded.
Where the revenue comes from
- APIs & advanced intermediates70%
Manufacture and sale of active ingredients and intermediates to innovator and generic companies (estimate)
- CRAMS / contract manufacturing25%
Contract research and custom manufacturing for global pharma (estimate)
- Other5%
Trading, by-products and services (estimate)
Products & services
Active pharmaceutical ingredients
Anti-inflammatory, cardiovascular, anti-infective and other APIs with DMFs and EU written confirmations (e.g. nabumetone, mefenamic acid).
Advanced intermediates
Key starting materials and intermediates supplied to Indian and global API manufacturers.
CRAMS
Contract research, process development and custom manufacturing for innovator pharmaceutical companies.
What works
- • Scale API platform: about ₹1,344 Cr of FY23 revenue with EBITDA of about ₹183 Cr and PAT of about ₹122 Cr, multiple USFDA/EU-inspected API and intermediate plants in Maharashtra and Telangana, and a CRAMS relationship base with innovator companies.
- • Established DMF and written-confirmation portfolio (nabumetone, mefenamic acid and others on PharmaCompass) that a resolution applicant can monetise.
- • A 44.95% stake in listed Avon Lifesciences and the Andheri East head office add asset backing beyond the plants.
- • The CIRP itself removes the overhang of unserviceable legacy CDR debt if a plan is approved — a clean balance sheet could re-rate the business.
What to watch
- • The company is in corporate insolvency (admitted 15 May 2024, Bank of Baroda petition; JM Financial ARC controls 74.85% of the CoC). Most resolution plans cancel or dilute existing equity to a sliver; liquidation would leave nothing for shareholders.
- • Information blackout: no FY24 or FY25 accounts, no approved plan and no net worth figure were found; Screener's historic series shows a ₹486 Cr pre-tax loss and negative return ratios, so the FY23 profit may not reflect the balance sheet.
- • The ₹85 UnlistedZone quote is dated September 2021 and other dealers show ₹84–99 with trades last recorded in 2023–2026; liquidity is very thin and the price is not evidence of value.
- • Governance history: lenders sought wilful-defaulter explanations in 2013, Mitsui exited, and the planned IPO was abandoned; the legacy BSE scrip code adds confusion about the shares' status.
Compare with peers
| Company | Price | Market cap | P/E | P/B | Rev CAGR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arch PharmalabsThis page | ₹85.00 | ₹1,330 Cr | 10.90 | 4.34 | +2.28% |
| Macleods | ₹530.00 | ₹34,397 Cr | 18.58 | 3.14 | +8.61% |
| Veeda | ₹428.40 | ₹2,485 Cr | 88.70 | 3.61 | +17.67% |
| Group Pharma | ₹55.00 | ₹69.85 Cr | 6.72 | 0.92 | +6.90% |
Latest reported year: FY23 ending 31 Mar 2023.