Apollo Hospitals rallies 12% in two days on strong Q4 results

The company reported a net profit of Rs 84.4 crore in March quarter against Rs 23.8 crore in the year-ago quarter.

Shares of Apollo Hospitals Enterprises surged 9 per cent to Rs 1,351 in intra-day  trade on Monday, rallying 12 per cent in past two trading days on the BSE, after the company reported a more-than-doubled consolidated net profit at Rs 84.4 crore in March quarter (Q4FY19). The Chennai-based hospital chain had posted a profit of Rs 23.8 crore in the year-ago quarter.

Total revenues during the quarter grew 19 per cent year-on-year (YoY) at Rs 2,521 crore in Q4FY19, against Rs 2,112 crore in the corresponding quarter of previous fiscal. EBITDA (earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortization) margin expanded 237 bps at 11.2 per cent from 8.8 per cent in corresponding quarter of previous fiscal.

The board has recommended a dividend of 120 per cent i.e. Rs 6 per share for the financial year ended March 31, 2019.

“There was a good performance, both in the hospitals and in the pharmacy division. The overall strategy of continuing to focus on improving asset utilisation, superior margin profile through case mix and quality of revenue, along with optimisation in costs. This approach is paying off with the healthcare services EBITDA growing by 21 per cent YoY to Rs 210 crore,” Apollo Hospitals said in a regulatory filing.

As on March 31, 2019, Apollo Hospitals had 7,200 plus operating beds across the network (excluding Apollo Health & Lifestyle & managed beds), out of which,13 were new hospitals with 1,790 operating beds. The new hospitals are expected to see increase in volumes and utilisation going forward.

At 11:09 am, Apollo Hospitals was up 8 per cent at Rs 1,338 on the BSE. The stock was trading close to its 52-week high level of Rs 1,387 touched on January 21, 2019. The trading volumes on the counter nearly doubled with a combined 2.06 million shares changing hands on the NSE and BSE so far.