India's listed hospitals expect solid revenue growth,with 18% annual rise projected. Tough times for EBITDA margins, though. Kotak Securities says expanding hospital beds will keep margins tight.
Average revenue per occupied bed (ARPOB) should grow 6-14% annually for most operators . Strong inpatient volumes and diagnostics, especially B2C, drive this. March quarter was "fine," with hospitals seeing 18% sales and 16% EBITDA growth.
KIMS saw 14% ARPOB growth, thanks to high-revenue areas like Thane and Bengaluru. Medanta posted 6% rise, with shorter stays and complex cases,even with challenges at new Noida site .
Apollo Hospitals had 9% ARPOB boost, aided by better pricing and case mix, plus 7% inpatient volume increase. Most hospitals noted 7-30% rises in inpatient footfalls, except Narayana Hrudayalaya and Max Healthcare.
Max Healthcare struggled, with just 1% ARPOB growth. Stopped high-value chemo for CGHS patients and GST tweaks hurt. Oncology sales share dropped to 21% from 26% year prior. Yet, Max's overall revenues grew 15% when excluding oncology.
Profitability hit by new beds. Most hospitals, except APHS and Narayana Hrudayalaya, upped operational beds by 5-21% annually. APHS had a 1% quarterly rise,while capacity beds went up 6%. Losses from new hospitals in Defence Colony, Kolkata,Hyderabad, Pune hit ₹414 million in Q4 FY26, up from ₹150 million before.
Even with hurdles,mature unit EBITDA margins rose to 25.5% from 24.4% annually. But KIMS, Medanta felt margin heat from new sites in Thane,Bengaluru,Noida . KIMS delayed insurance empanelment too.
In diagnostics, DLPL and Metropolis saw strong 15-17% organic sales growth annually . Sample volumes up 9-13%,better wellness mix helped. B2C improved as online rivals cut discounts. Metropolis hit 23% sales growth,boosted by acquisitions like Core, DAPIC,Scientific, Ambika. Diagnostics sector EBITDA climbed 27% annually, with margins widening by 175 basis points .
