Dr Lal PathLabs: Street worried over rising pressures

Analysts expect Indian diagnostic firms to benefit from geographic expansions and price hikes.

Dr. Lal PathLabs, India’s biggest diagnostics firm by revenue, posted a bigger profit for the fourth straight quarter on Thursday, led by the addition of more labs and increased demand for medical tests.

The company’s consolidated net profit jumped 49% year-on-year to Rs 84.5 crore ($10.1 million) in the fourth quarter.

Its shares climbed as much as 7.8% after the results before trimming some gains to trade up about 6%. Rival Metropolis Healthcare was up about 2% and Thyrocare Technologies gained about 1%.

Analysts expect Indian diagnostic firms to benefit from geographic expansions and price hikes.

“We’re expanding our reach in core markets by strengthening our presence in Tier 3 and Tier 4 towns,” Dr. Lal PathLabs Chief Executive Officer-designate Shankha Banerjee said.

The number of samples tested grew 8.5% during the quarter, and was up roughly 10% for the fiscal year.

The company, which operates more than 280 labs in India, said total revenue rose by 11% to Rs 545 crore.

Thyrocare is scheduled to report its fourth-quarter results next week.

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First Published: May 10 2024 | 3:44 PM IST

Dr. Lal PathLabs Q4 results: Net profit rises 49% on healthy testing demand | Company Results