Max Healthcare Q3FY26 net profit rises 9% to Rs 344 crore

Max Healthcare

• Max Healthcare Q3 net profit up 9% YoY to Rs.344 crore despite higher costs
• Gross revenue grew 10 percent YoY, driven by 7 percent rise in occupied bed days
• Expansion continues with new beds added and plans for a 450-bed hospital in Pune

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Max Healthcare on Thursday posted a 9 percent year‑on‑year rise in net profit for the December quarter, even as margins compressed due to regulatory actions and expansion‑related costs.

Profit after tax (PAT) increased to Rs.344 crore, up from Rs.316 crore a year earlier, despite Rs.55 crore in exceptional expenses linked to the Code on Wages, 2019, and stamp duty from the amalgamation of Crosslay Remedies and Jaypee Healthcare.

The hospital chain’s gross revenue grew 10 percent YoY to Rs.2,608 crore, supported by a 7 percent increase in occupied bed days (OBDs) and strong international patient demand. Revenue from international patients rose 14 percent to Rs.230 crore, making up about 9 percent of total hospital revenue.

Operating EBITDA rose 4 percent to Rs.648 crore. Operating margin slipped to 26.1 percent, down from 27.3 percent a year earlier, the company attributed the margin compression to several factors including discontinuation of high‑value patented chemotherapy drugs for institutional patients after restrictive pricing guidelines from CGHS, pre‑commissioning expenses as new brownfield capacity came online in Mohali, Nanavati Max and Max Smart and GST rate change.

A temporary disruption in cashless services for standalone health insurer patients, which caused substitution with lower‑tariff PSU patients until cashless services were restored late in the quarter.

The ARPOB (average revenue per occupied bed) rose to Rs.77,900 from Rs.75,900 a year earlier, while EBITDA per bed declined to Rs.71.3 lakh from Rs.73 lakh because of the cost overhang. Occupancy stood at 74 percent.

Max Healthcare continued to push ahead with its expansion pipeline. 53 beds were commissioned at MSSH Mohali, delivering an EBITDA margin of 39 percent; 63 beds were added at Nanavati Max with a 31 percent margin; and a 400‑bed tower at Max Smart is expected to go live by February. The Board also approved a 260‑bed expansion at MSSH Dwarka, taking that facility to 560 beds. In addition, the company acquired Yerawada Properties Pvt. Ltd. to develop a 450‑bed greenfield hospital in Pune, targeted for commissioning in 2030.

Free cash from operations stood at Rs.281 crore, slightly lower than Rs.303 crore last year, as Max deployed Rs.408 crore into expansion and modernisation projects. Net debt rose to Rs.2,166 crore from Rs.2,067 crore in the previous quarter.

Chairman and MD Abhay Soi said new beds were already delivering accretive margins and would drive further ramp‑up.

“Revenue and PAT grew 10 percent and 9 percent, respectively… Our new brownfield beds have demonstrated accretive margins. We expect significant ramp‑up in Q4 and in FY27,” he said.