* Hester Biosciences Limited announced its financial results for Q2 and H1 FY26, followed by an earnings conference call on November 12, 2025. * Financial Performance (Stand-alone India Business): * Q2 FY26 divisional product sales: ₹64 crore, a 12% decline year-on-year. * H1 FY26 sales: ₹128 crore, down 13%. * EBITDA and NPAT declined by 13% and 15% respectively on an H1 basis. * Consolidated Performance: * Consolidated divisional product sales: ₹155 crore, a 7% degrowth. * Net profit: up 99%, primarily due to favorable foreign exchange movements and improved cost control. * Divisional Performance: * Poultry Healthcare: Recorded 18% growth in Q2 and 10% growth in H1, driven by strong vaccine demand. Received market authorization for H9N2 vaccine, strengthening its portfolio and opening export opportunities. Manufacturing license for H9N2 vaccine is anticipated by December 2025. * Animal Healthcare: Experienced 50% degrowth in Q2 and 41% decline in H1, largely due to delays in government-led immunization programs for PPR and Lumpy Skin Disease. This is considered a timing-related delay, with a pickup in activity anticipated in Q4 FY26. * Pet Care: Efforts to build presence in key urban markets are ongoing, with better engagement from veterinarians and distributors expected to translate into measurable growth over the next few quarters. The company plans to introduce Pet vaccines in India and Africa using existing facilities without major additional capex. * International Operations: * Central Africa: Delivered positive momentum with Q2 net profit of ₹4.8 crore and H1 net profit of ₹10.32 crore. The company remains on track to achieve breakeven in its Africa operations by FY28. * Hester Nepal: Reported a net loss of ₹1.1 crore in Q2, impacted by the timing of institutional orders and temporary disturbances. * Capital Expenditure & Capacity Expansion: * The ₹182 crore capital work in progress at the India plant is expected to be fully capitalized by March 2026, significantly scaling up vaccine production. * The company has received a permit to repurpose a BSL-3 human vaccine facility for veterinary use, with the manufacturing license anticipated in Q4 FY26 or early Q1 FY27 (by June 2026), which will provide additional capacity. * Product Development: Hester is working towards launching its Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) vaccine, expected in the middle of the next financial year (around September 2026). Recombinant vaccine development is progressing well without delays. * Management Outlook: Management expressed confidence that the groundwork laid over the past two quarters will begin to reflect in stronger performance in the second half of the current financial year, aiming for sustainable growth through product diversification and geographic expansion.
