Fortis Healthcare net profit rises 59% to Rs 138 cr in March quarter

Fortis Healthcare on Tuesday said its consolidated net profit increased 59 per cent to Rs 138 crore for the March quarter, on the back of strong performance in the hospital business.

The healthcare major had reported a net profit of Rs 87 crore in the January-March quarter of 2021-22 fiscal.

Total income rose to Rs 1,656 crore in the fourth quarter over Rs 1,384 crore in the fourth quarter of 2021-22 fiscal, Fortis Healthcare said in a statement.

For the year ended March 31, 2023, the company's net profit declined to Rs 633 crore as against Rs 790 crore in 2021-22 fiscal.

However, adjusted PAT (profit after tax) of the company stood at Rs 559 crore for the last fiscal as compared with Rs 475 crore in FY22, the company added.

Fortis Healthcare Chairman Ravi Rajagopal said the hospital business continues to perform well across all financial and operating parameters.

"We remain well-positioned for our next phase of growth comprising brownfield bed expansion in order to expand and create larger format facilities. This would enable us to draw higher operating leverage from the business," he added.

The company's diagnostics business was impacted by the decline in Covid volumes and the challenging industry environment which still persists, he noted.

"We remain keen to participate in the consolidation opportunities in the healthcare landscape. While our balance sheet allows us comfortable leveraging capacity, we may also look at raising capital so as to not miss out on larger growth opportunities that may present themselves," Rajagopal said.

The company said its board recommended a final dividend of Re 1 per share for the financial year 2022-23.