from top: Amit VermA; VikAs khotMannalal agrawal
Ajanta Pharma Ltd
No 64 in 2016
In the 12 months to September 2017, Ajanta
Pharma’s share price almost halved to
1,134 apiece. The company’s net sales dropped from490 crore in the December
quarter last fiscal to `398 crore in the June
quarter of FY18. This was a period when
most Indian drug makers were reeling
under scrutiny from the US Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) and pricing pressure
in the US. Consequently, the company also
saw its market capitalisation erode to $1.
billion, impacting the wealth of its 70-year-
old founder Mannalal Agrawal (whose net
worth stood at $1.85 billion last year) and his
brothers Purushottam and Madhusudan. The
promoters hold close to 72 percent in the
company. A turnaround could be round the
corner, though, with the company launching
new drugs in the US and obtaining clearance
from the US FDA for new products.
glenn Saldanha
Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd
No 69 in 2016
Like most Indian pharmaceutical companies
that took a hit, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals
too saw its scrip erode from 923 in September 2016 to598 a year later. The
company’s net sales dropped from `2,
crore in the December quarter last fiscal
to `1,511 crore in the June quarter of FY18.
Its market capitalisation stands at $2.
billion. This resulted in the erosion in the net
worth of Chairman and Managing Director
Glenn Saldanha, 46, who was ranked 69th
(with a net worth of $1.77 billion) on the
2016 Forbes India Rich List. The promoters
hold 46.5 percent in the company.Malvinder Singh &
Shivinder Singh
Fortis Healthcare
No 92 in 2016
For quite some time, things haven’t looked
good for brothers Malvinder Singh, 44, and
Shivinder Singh, 42, whose net worth last
year stood at $1.38 billion. A dream run kick-
started by the sale of Ranbaxy Laboratories
to Japan’s Daiichi Sankyo in 2008 for $4.
billion came to an abrupt end in 2012, when
Daiichi filed a case with the Singapore
International Arbitration Centre that accused
the brothers of misrepresenting information
about the US investigation into Ranbaxy. Last
year, the court asked Malvinder and Shivinder
to pay a fine of $390 million. Their other
venture, Fortis Healthcare, isn’t in great shape
either. The company’s revenue remained
almost flat at `168 crore in the June quarter
this fiscal, as against the year-ago period.
In a big blow to the Singhs, the Supreme
Court in September barred them from selling
their stake in Fortis, following a petition by
Daiichi. Meanwhile, Shivinder has given up
his business responsibilities at Fortis to focus
on community spiritual work at Radha Soami
Satsang Beas, to which the family is linked.devendra Jain
Inox Group
No 87 in 2016
Devendra Jain’s $3-billion Inox Group has
interests in everything from industrial gas
(Inox Air Products Pvt Ltd), chemicals and
refrigerants (Gujarat Fluorochemicals Ltd),
cryogenic liquid storage and distribution
equipment (Inox India Ltd) and windmills
(Inox Wind Ltd) to multiplex cinema theatresBy Sayan ChakraBorty
the Dropouts
Competition And industry woes led to
these exits from the list in 2017
(Inox Leisure Ltd). No wonder then that
Jain, 88, has consistently figured among
the richest Indians and was ranked 87th last
year with a net worth of $1.54 billion. His
wealth, however, has eroded over the last 12
months, with the dwindling fortunes of the
group’s wind energy business over low order
volumes as well as a drop in tariff. Inox Wind’s
net sales dropped to `44 crore in the June
quarter this fiscal as against `1,105 crore in
the December quarter of FY17. The company’s
scrip tumbled from `200 in September
last year to `107 in September 2017.PnC Menon
Sobha Group
No 78 in 2016
PNC Menon, 68, has been focusing on
growing Sobha Group’s presence in the
Middle East while the India business has been
growing at a steady pace. Net sales in the
June quarter stood at `637 crore as against
`542 crore in the March quarter. Its shares
have appreciated by 33 percent between
September 2016 and September 2017.
Some of its peers, however, outperformed
Sobha. For instance, Oberoi Realty’s shares
appreciated by 45 percent, Godrej Properties’
by about 79 percent and Prestige Estates
Projects’ by about 42 percent during the
same period, leaving Sobha behind at a
market capitalisation of `4,206 crore and
Menon out of the 2017 Forbes India Rich List.The OThers
Ajay Kalsi (94 in 2016)
Bhavin & Divyank Turakhia (95)
Dilip & Anand Surana (96)
Azad Moopen (97)malvinder and
shivinder singhdecember 29, 2017 forbes india | 19Richest
IndIansThe[l e t t e r f r o m t h e e d i t o r]