Aster DM Healthcare slumps 6% as Q4 net profit declines 24.5%

Shares of Aster DM Healthcare plunged nearly 6 percent in early trade on May 26, as investors shun the stock following a fall in its net profit for the quarter that ended March.

The healthcare company reported a 24.5 percent on-year decline in its net profit to Rs 170.8 crore in January-March, down from Rs 226 crore in the corresponding quarter of the last fiscal. The fall in the bottomline was largely due to the launch of five new hospitals in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states and India.

The costs of launching new hospitals also dragged the company’s operational performance down. As a result, the EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization)? margin eroded to 15.5 percent in Q4 from 17 percent in the year-ago period.

Revenue, however, grew 19.6 percent on year to Rs 3,262.3 crore as against Rs 2,727.8 crore in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal.

At 12.15 pm, shares of Aster DM Healthcare were trading at Rs 268.20 on the NSE, with a cut of 3.28 percent from the previous close. Around eight lakh shares of the company changed hands on the exchanges, higher than the one-month daily traded average of three lakh shares.

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The company also emphasised its focus on expansion in India through the addition of 126 pharmacies and 91 labs and collection centres.

The company has said its board would review shortlisted proposals for the sale of the business in the GCC states. More clarity on this front would be closely tracked by investors post-earnings call scheduled for later on May 26.

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