Shares of Hester Biosciences Ltd. surged over 8% in early trade on Thursday, November 5, after the company announced its September quarter results. Hester Biosciences reported a 41% year-on-year increase in net profit to ₹20.3 crore, compared with ₹14.4 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.
Revenue rose 38% to ₹98 crore from ₹71 crore a year ago. EBITDA more than doubled to ₹33 crore from ₹11.5 crore in the year-ago period. The EBITDA margin also expanded significantly to 33.4% from 16.2% a year earlier. Separately, the company's board has approved an unsecured loan of $1 million to its wholly owned subsidiary, Hester Biosciences Africa Ltd., based in Tanzania.
The loan will be disbursed in one or more tranches and will be used for business and general corporate purposes, including meeting working capital requirements. Hester Biosciences holds a 100% stake in Hester Africa. The transaction falls under the related-party transaction provisions of the SEBI Listing Regulations, given that the African entity is a wholly owned subsidiary.