Aster DM Healthcare tumbles 7% on Rs 83 crore loss in June quarter

Shares of Aster DM tumbled 7 per cent to Rs 128.25 apiece on the BSE on Thursday after the healthcare services reported weak set of numbers for June quarter of FY21 (Q1FY21). At 9:52 am, the stock was quoting at Rs 132 per share, down 4 per cent on the BSE, as against 107 points, or 0.34 per cent, gain in the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex.

The company reported a standalone net loss of Rs 27.52 crore for the quarter udner review, as against Rs 17 crore loss in the year-ago period. Sequentially, the company had posted a profit of Rs 20 lakh in the March quarter of FY20. Besides, its revenue from operations declined from Rs 171.18 crore, reported in Q1FY20, to Rs 135.40 crore in the recently concluded quarter.

On a consolidated basis, the loss came in at Rs 83 crore, compared to net profit of Rs 3 crore in the year ago period. Revenue, meanwhile, slipped 13 per cent YoY from Rs 2,029 crore to Rs 1,761 crore. EBITDA, on the other hand, stood at Rs 143 crore, down 36 per cent on a yearly basis, from Rs 224 crore reported in Q1FY20.

"The Group has taken various measures to reduce its fixed cost - for example, salary reductions, optimization of administrative, sales and marketing costs, deferment of capex along with judicious resource allocation and requesting for the waiver of minimum guarantee fee and revenue share for hospital premises taken on lease. The Management, based on the fact that it expects to generate positive operating cash flows in future periods and its ability to raise new financing facilities believes that the Group will not have any challenge in meeting its financial obligations for the next 12 months. The actual impact of the global health pandemic may be different from that which has been estimated, as the COVID-19 situation evolves in India and globally," the company said in a statement.

From its recent low of Rs 83.8, hit on May 21, the stock has surged 64.5 per cent on the BSE till Wednesday. In comparison, the S&P BSE SEnsex has gained 24 per cent during the period.