Shareholders of Fermenta Biotech Limited overwhelmingly approved a final dividend of ₹3.75 per equity share and the reappointment of Non-Executive Director Ms. Rajeshwari Datla during the company’s 74th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on August 11, 2026. The payout, representing a 75% dividend on the face value of ₹5 per share for the financial year ended March 31, 2026, received 99.9999% support from votes polled. Eligible shareholders will receive the dividend on or before August 21, 2026, based on the record date of August 05, 2026.

The meeting, conducted via Video Conferencing or Other Audio-Visual Means (VC/OAVM), saw a total voting participation of 70.56% of outstanding shares. Out of 29,430,987 total shares held as on the cut-off date, 20,766,589 votes were polled across remote e-voting, ballot, and e-voting at the meeting. All seven resolutions proposed in the notice were passed with the requisite majority, as confirmed by the Scrutinizer’s report submitted by V. N. Deodhar & Co., Practicing Company Secretaries.

Key Resolutions Passed

The Board of Directors secured shareholder approval for the following matters:

Voting Breakdown

Voting rights were determined based on paid-up shares registered as on August 05, 2026. The promoter and promoter group held 18,861,009 shares (64.09% of total shares) and voted in favor of all resolutions with 100% support. Public institutions held 121,451 shares and also voted unanimously in favor. Public non-institutional shareholders held 10,448,527 shares; while their support was overwhelming, they cast a small number of dissenting votes on specific resolutions.

For the reappointment of Ms. Rajeshwari Datla, public non-institutional shareholders cast 412 votes against the resolution out of 1,899,740 polled, resulting in 99.9783% support from this category. Similarly, for the related-party transactions resolution, public institutions cast 397 votes against, while public non-institutions cast 12 votes against, leading to an overall support of 99.9763%. The dissenting votes were negligible relative to the total poll, indicating strong shareholder consensus on governance and operational matters.

Governance and Compliance

The proceedings adhered to Regulation 44 of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015. Mr. Pradeep Chandan, Chairman, declared the quorum present and called the meeting to order. Mr. Varadvinayak Khambete, Company Secretary and Head-Legal, facilitated the voting process. Remote e-voting was conducted by MUFG Intime India Private Limited from August 08, 2026, to August 10, 2026. The Scrutinizer, Mr. V. N. Deodhar, confirmed that votes were unblocked in the presence of independent witnesses CA. Hrushikesh V. Deodhar and Mr. Santosh M. Kelkar. The audited Standalone and Consolidated Financial Statements for FY26 were adopted by the members.

Fermenta Biotech reported a sharp contraction in consolidated profitability for the quarter ended June 30, 2026, driven by declining revenues in its core bulk drugs segment and the absence of exceptional items that had boosted prior-year figures. Standalone net profit after tax (PAT) decreased 7.70% year-on-year (YoY) to ₹1,498.58 lakhs from ₹1,623.38 lakhs in Q1FY25. The consolidated net profit suffered a steeper decline of 55.80% YoY, falling to ₹953.15 lakhs compared to ₹2,160.17 lakhs in the corresponding period last year. The Board of Directors approved the unaudited financial results on August 11, 2026, pursuant to Regulations 30 and 33 of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015. M/s. SRBC & Co. LLP, the statutory auditors, issued a limited review report with an unmodified opinion on both standalone and consolidated results. Managing Director Prashant Nagre signed off on the filings, which were submitted to the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange of India Limited.

Financial Performance Highlights

Revenue from operations showed weakness across both reporting structures. Standalone revenue from operations declined 6.0% YoY to ₹11,183.93 lakhs from ₹11,901.87 lakhs. On a consolidated basis, revenue dropped 10.60% YoY to ₹12,182.12 lakhs from ₹13,626.27 lakhs. Total income followed a similar trajectory, with standalone total income falling 8.70% to ₹11,673.59 lakhs and consolidated total income decreasing 12.90% to ₹12,619.50 lakhs.

The following table summarises key financial metrics across both standalone and consolidated reporting structures for the quarter:

Profit before tax for the standalone entity remained relatively stable at ₹2,014.58 lakhs, down slightly from ₹2,271.92 lakhs in Q1FY25. However, the consolidated profit before tax collapsed 47.70% YoY to ₹1,469.15 lakhs from ₹2,808.71 lakhs. This divergence highlights the impact of foreign subsidiaries and inter-segment dynamics on the group's overall performance.

Segment Performance

The disparity between standalone and consolidated results underscores the pressure on Fermenta Biotech's international operations. A key factor was the absence of exceptional items in the current quarter; the previous year's comparable period benefited from a ₹907.14 lakh recovery of provisions against receivables, recorded as an exceptional item. The consolidated segment results reveal that the 'Unallocated' category posted a net loss of ₹188.83 lakhs, compared to a profit of ₹210.03 lakhs in Q1FY25, further dragging down group profitability.

The following table presents consolidated segment results for the quarter:

The bulk drugs/chemicals segment, the primary revenue driver, saw its consolidated segment result decline 30.80% YoY from ₹2,752.23 lakhs to ₹1,905.05 lakhs, indicating margin erosion or volume declines in core products. Three subsidiaries reported combined total revenues of ₹1,648.16 lakhs and a total net loss after tax of ₹398.17 lakhs for the quarter, as reviewed by their respective independent auditors.

Corporate Developments and Notes

Several notable corporate actions and accounting disclosures accompanied the quarterly results. During the quarter, Fermenta Biotech granted 3,95,400 employee stock options to eligible employees at an exercise price of ₹83.67 per option, exercisable into equivalent equity shares of ₹5 each, subject to vesting conditions under "The Fermenta Biotech Limited – Employee Stock Option Scheme 2025," as approved by shareholders on August 12, 2025. The company also consumed semi-finished inventory that had been provided for in an earlier year towards the production of animal feed, resulting in a provision reversal of ₹205.00 lakhs for the quarter ended June 30, 2026. Additionally, during the previous year, the company transferred its Environment Division to its wholly owned subsidiary, Fermenta Environment Solutions Private Limited, as a going concern on a slump sale basis with effect from October 01, 2025, for a consideration of ₹1,900 lakhs. The standalone paid-up equity share capital stood at ₹1,434.03 lakhs as of June 30, 2026, with other equity (excluding revaluation reserve) at ₹40,848.04 lakhs as of March 31, 2026.