Portea Medical's losses widen to Rs 123 crore even as revenue triples

 Portea Medical, the health care start-up promoted by K Ganesh and Meena Ganesh, has seen losses triple to Rs 123 crore in FY16, as it acquired smaller rivals and expanded medical services for consumers on their premises.

However, the Bengaluru-based company, backed by Accel Partners and International Finance Corporation, saw its revenue grow to Rs 47 crore, a three-fold increase over the previous financial year, regulatory filings data sourced from research platform Tofler showed. During the year, Portea acquired home medical equipment service provider Health Mantra and specialty pharmaceutical distributor Medybiz Pharma for an undisclosed sum. Expenses grew to Rs 171 crore, while employee salaries shot up to Rs 65 crore.

In the previous financial year, its employee expenses were at Rs 27 crore, while other expenses were at Rs 32 crore.

“Portea has been at the forefront of critical changes in the health care sector in India, and we have played an important role in creating an industry that didn’t exist until 2013,” said Meena Ganesh, managing director and chief executive officer, Portea Medical. “We are well on track with our business plans and are the best capitalised player in this space in India.”

Portea Medical has raised over $46.5 million from investors, including Accel Partners, International Finance Corporation, Qualcomm Ventures and Ventureast.

The company provides at-home health care services, including general primary health care, post-hospitalisation care and chronic disease management. It offers home visits from doctors, nurses, nursing attendants and physiotherapists. It also provides collection of lab samples and medical equipment on hire, bringing the entire gamut of health care services to a patient’s doorstep. It claims to have made more than two million patient visits in three years of operation.

FY16 saw start-ups across sectors aggressively competing to capture the growing consumer internet base in the country, and those in the health care technology space were no different.