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Informist, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026

 

--Max Health: Discontinued high-value chemo drugs for institutional patients 

--Max Health: In talks with govt on pricing of high-value drugs pricing 

--CONTEXT: Max Health mgmt comments in post-earnings analysts concall 

--Max Health:Pricing drugs under central govt scheme unviable, low in margin 

--Max Health: Agreement in place with insurance cos on annual price revision 

--Max Health: Capacity addition delays hurt growth in Q3 

--Max Health: Capacity additions to drive growth going forward 

--Max Health: On track to invest INR 19 bln in capex in FY26 

 

By Narayana Krishna and Eshitva Prakash

 

HYDERABAD/MUMBAI – Max Healthcare Institute Ltd. expects the ongoing capacity additions to drive the company's earnings growth going forward despite headwinds like seasonality. In a post-earnings analyst call, the company's management said besides low seasonal admissions, delays in bed capacity additions impacted December quarter earnings performance.

 

For the December quarter, Max Healthcare reported a consolidated net profit of INR 3.01 billion, up 26% on year but down nearly 39% sequentially. The company's revenue for the quarter was up nearly 11% on year but fell over 3% on quarter to INR 20.68 billion.

 

Max Healthcare's management said the Oct-Dec base last year was high because of higher patient inflows due to seasonal illnesses such as dengue, whereas the latest quarter missed the seasonal admissions due to favourable weather conditions.

 

Max Healthcare is in the process of adding 1,500 to 1,800 new beds in the next 2–3 years spread across locations via greenfield and brownfield expansion, the management said. Currently, a 500-bed hospital in Lucknow is expected to be ready by March, while another 500-bed hospital in Gurugram Sector 56 is likely to be ready by Apr-Sept, the management said. 

 

Max Healthcare management said a 100-bed hospital in Nagpur is also coming up in the next 24 months, while the 400-bed Mohali greenfield project will be ready in FY28. The company is also developing a 200-bed hospital at Vaishali which is expected to be ready in 24 months. 

The management said the capital expenditure on these hospitals is going on as per plan and for FY26, it expects the total capex at INR 19 billion. 

 

Max Healthcare's management said the hospital network has discontinued the usage of high-value, patented drugs such as chemotherapy medicines for institutional patients due to pricing issues. Usage of these drugs is not viable at the current prices given by the institutions and is low in margin contribution, the company said.

 

Max Healthcare is engaged with the government on these issues, mainly with the Central Government Health Scheme, the management said. The scheme provides health cover to the in-service and retired employees of the central government and their family members.

On insurance companies, Max Healthcare said 4–5 insurance companies account for nearly 25% of the total revenue for the company and there is a pricing mechanism in place for this segment's patients. The company has entered into an agreement with insurance companies to revise the prices on an annual basis.

At 1252 IST, Max Healthcare shares were trading at INR 1,030 on the National Stock Exchange, down 1% from their previous close.  

End

 

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

 

Edited by Vandana Hingorani

 

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