Fortis plans 7 hospitals for Rs 400 cr

Private healthcare group, Fortis Healthcare, is planning to set up seven new hospitals in the country at an approximate investment of Rs 400 crore in the next two years. These projects are expected to add around 2,500 to 3,000 beds to the present bed capacity of around 6,000.

“Presently, seven projects are in the pipeline in the west and eastern region of the country including a 1,000-bed hospital in Gurgaon,” Vishal Bali, chief executive officer of Fortis Hospitals said on the sidelines of CII National Quality Summit, here today.

He also said the company would invest around Rs 350 crore to Rs 400 crore on these projects.

 

Earlier, Fortis Hospitals have completed the re-branding of Workhardt Hospitals to Fortis-Workhardt in the first quarter of this financial year. The company had acquired 10 hospitals of Workhardt for Rs 909 crore in 2009. Since then, the company is looking at both organic and inorganic route to expand its operation in the Asian continent.

“Fortis is building up a pan-Asian presence and will look at both organic and inorganic route to grow in this region,” Bali said.

The company, recently, aborted attempts to increase stake in Parkway Holdings Ltd and sold its 25 per cent stake in Singapore’s largest hospital chain to Malaysia’s sovereign-wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd.

Bali, however, said that the hospital chain was in constant look out to grow inorganically in Asian region without divulging further details.

Healthcare industry in the country is witnessing a growth of 15 per cent annually in the recent time and is expected to sustain the momentum in coming decades.

“Considering the fact that the industry is growing at 15 per cent, the next growth in health care will take place in Tier-II and Tier-III cities,” he said.

He also said after having a fair amount of presence in metros, the company is looking at Tier-II cities for expansion.

Fortis Healthcare has posted a more than six times rise in its net profit at Rs 75 crore in the second quarter ended September 2010 against Rs 12.9 crore reported in the same period last year.

Revenue of the company rose 88 per cent to Rs 358 crore during this period in the corresponding period last year.