Apollo Hospitals reports 33 pc fall in net profit

Healthcare major Apollo Hospitals Enterprise has reported a 33 per cent fall in its net profit to Rs 73 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2016.

The company had posted a standalone net profit of Rs 109 crore for the corresponding period in the previous fiscal.

However, revenues grew by 21.74 per cent to Rs 1,680 crore compared with Rs 1,380 crore in Q3 of FY16.

"Recent months have also been challenging due to demonetisation. Nevertheless, we have demonstrated the ability to leverage our scale and operational expertise to deliver a resilient operating performance," said Prathap C. Reddy, chairman, Apollo Hospitals.

It commissioned 480-bed super-speciality tertiary care hospital in Navi Mumbai during the period, its 71st facility that increased the company's total bed capacity above 10,000 beds.

He said the steady expansion over the years represents a small fraction of health infrastructure that India needs.

International Finance Corporation, an arm of the World Bank, invested Rs 450 crore to acquire 29.03 per cent stake in Apollo Health and Lifestyle Limited (AHLL).

AHLL will use the proceeds to expand its network of clinics, cradles and diagnostic centres across India.

During the said Q3, the Chennai cluster was impacted by three one-off events -- demonetisation, VIP admissions and cyclone Vardah.

VIP admission was an obvious reference to then Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalitha, who died on December 5 after undergoing treatment for over two months.

Occupancy at Chennai cluster was 906 beds (59 per cent utilisation of capacity of 1,531 beds) during the nine-month period of FY17 compared with 969 beds (64 per cent utilisation of 1,521 beds) during the same period in FY16.

The Hyderabad cluster continued to benefit from the momentum in operations as revenues grew 12 per cent, it added.

--IANS

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