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Informist, Wednesday, May 14, 2025

 

--Apollo HealthCo CEO: To add 600 Apollo pharmacy stores in FY26

--Apollo HealthCo: Aiming 30% growth in Apollo 24/7 sales in FY26

--Apollo HealthCo CEO: Expect Apollo 24/7 ops to break even by March

--Apollo HealthCo CEO: Focus on cutting cost, discounts on Apollo 24/7

 

By Narayana Krishna

 

HYDERABAD - Apollo HealthCo Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Madhivanan Balakrishnan expects the company's digital services platform, Apollo 24/7, to turn profitable by the end of this financial year. The company is cutting its customer acquisition costs and the discounts it offers to customers on Apollo 24/7 in a big way, Balakrishnan told Informist on the sidelines of an event here Wednesday.

 

Apollo HealthCo, a subsidiary of Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd., operates the pharmacy and wholesale distribution businesses along with the digital platform.

 

"Two things are contributing to turning the digital platform profitable," he said. "One is our customer acquisition cost, which was very high because we were spending heavily...we have significantly brought it down. And the second thing is the cost of delivery. This is also coming down. Discount offers are also reducing. All these factors are helping cut costs and support profitability," he said.

 

Apollo 24/7's total gross merchandise value in 2023-24 (Apr-Mar) stood at INR 6.81 billion. The total operating cost for the year was INR 7.08 billion. The digital platform has 39.6 million registered users and serves 19,000 cities across the country.

 

For the quarter ended December, Apollo HealthCo's gross merchandise value on the Apollo 24/7 platform was INR 7.6 billion, up 11% from the same quarter the previous year. The platform reported an EBITDA of INR 566 million, compared with INR 19 million a year ago. The EBITDA margin was 2.4%.

 

Balakrishnan expects 30% growth in the digital platform's gross merchandise value in FY26, aided by sales of insurance policies and credit cards. On Wednesday, the company announced its foray into insurance distribution and co-branded credit card services. It has tied up with eight insurance companies in the country to sell their products through Apollo 24/7.

 

Apollo HealthCo plans to add 600 new pharmacy retail stores in FY26. At present, the company has over 6,000 stores across the country under the Apollo Pharmacy brand. The company also plans to set up a 100-seater call centre in Gurugram for its insurance business, Balakrishnan said.

 

On Wednesday, shares of Apollo Hospitals closed flat at INR 6,916.50 on the National Stock exchange.  End

 

Edited by Ashish Shirke

 

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