Press Release
VIS Reaffirms Entity Ratings of Highnoon Laboratories Limited
Karachi, April 02, 2026: VIS Credit Rating Company Limited (VIS) reaffirms the entity ratings of Highnoon Laboratories Limited (‘Highnoon’ or the ‘Company’) at ‘A+/A1’ (‘Single A Plus/A One’). Medium to long term rating of ‘A+’ indicates good credit quality; protection factors are adequate. Risk factors may vary with possible changes in the economy. Short term rating of ‘A1’ indicates strong likelihood of timely repayment of short-term obligations with excellent liquidity factors. Outlook on the assigned rating remains ‘Positive.’ Previous rating action was announced on January 24, 2025.
Highnoon is a pharmaceutical company engaged in manufacturing, importing, and marketing of pharmaceutical products in Pakistan. Established in 1984 as a private limited company, it was listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange as a public limited company in November 1995. The Company’s registered office and manufacturing facility are located on Multan Road, Lahore, with its corporate office also in Lahore. The Company is a generic pharmaceutical manufacturer that produces and markets a diverse range of products across various therapeutic areas, including Respiratory, Inhalation, Cardiology, and Diabetes. The Company ranks ed as the 13th largest pharmaceutical company in Pakistan, with a market share of 2.55%.
The Company through its wholly owned subsidiary, Curexa Health Private Limited, also produces antibiotics, particularly cephalosporins. Curexa cGMP-compliant manufacturing facilities produce sterile powder for injections, oral suspension powder, and capsules for local and export markets. These products address therapeutic areas including respiratory, gastroenterology, urology, gynecology, and pediatrics.
The rating reflects Highnoon’s market position within a medium-to-low risk pharmaceutical sector, which benefits from resilient domestic demand and supportive pricing regulations. Despite persistent industry-wide volume pressures and regional export disruptions, the Company has maintained a steady revenue growth trajectory. This momentum is supported by prudent pricing strategy and a well-diversified product mix; importantly, the Company faces low revenue concentration risk, with its top five products contributing approximately 26% of total sales. Together, these dynamics have driven consistent margin expansions across operating and net profitability levels.
The assessment also reflects Highnoon’s conservative capital structure, underpinned by strong internal capital formation. Consistent cash generation has facilitated active deleveraging, substantially reducing reliance on external borrowings and resulting in a low gearing metrics. Moreover, debt coverage indicators have strengthened considerably, reinforcing a comfortable short-term liquidity position. The Company's liquidity reserves and projected operational cash flows provide sufficient flexibility to comfortably absorb anticipated capital expenditures for its planned manufacturing facility, thereby preserving its sound financial risk profile. Going forward, the ratings remain underpinned by the Company's capacity to effectively manage the financial impact of the planned debt mobilization for the new facility, which is intended to support capacity expansion for future growth prospects.
For further information on this ratings announcement, please contact at 021-35311861-64 or email at info@vis.com.pk
Applicable Rating Criteria: Corporate Rating:
https://docs.vis.com.pk/docs/CorporateMethodology.pdf
VIS Issue/Issuer Rating Scale
https://docs.vis.com.pk/docs/VISRatingScales.pdf