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Informist, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026

 

By Gunjan Rajput

 

NEW DELHI – Fortis Healthcare Ltd. is expected to report a modest year-on-year rise in its consolidated net profit for the September quarter, as strong revenue growth in its hospital business is partly offset by higher employee stock option costs and expenses related to the ramp-up of newer facilities, according to analysts.

 

The company's consolidated net profit is estimated to rise nearly 6% on year to INR 3.15 billion and the revenue is seen increasing over 16% on year to INR 27.08 billion for the reporting quarter, according to estimates from eight brokerages. Sequentially, the bottom line is seen rising nearly 23% and the top line over 6%.

 

The highest estimate for the company's net profit is INR 3.56 billion by Elara Securities (India) Pvt. Ltd. and the lowest is INR 2.81 billion by Axis Securities Ltd. The highest estimate for revenue is INR 27.45 billion by JM Financial Institutional Securities Pvt. Ltd. and the lowest is INR 26.17 billion by Axis Securities.

 

The hospital business is expected to remain the key growth driver for the company for the September quarter, with brokerages forecasting a 16-17% year-on-year revenue growth. This is supported by higher patient volumes, a better specialty mix, capacity additions, ramp-up of newer hospitals, and growth in average revenue per occupied bed. The average revenue per occupied bed is also expected to grow around 6% year-on-year, according to Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd. Axis Securities expects the average revenue per occupied bed to be around INR 72,300.

 

Revenue from the diagnostics business is seen rising around 9.5-12.0% on year for Jul-Sept. "Diagnostics is expected to maintain healthy growth, supported by improving volumes and realizations," SMIFS Ltd. said in its report.
 

However, growth in revenue is unlikely to translate into a similar increase in operating profit as employee stock option costs and expenses related to newer facilities are expected to put pressure on margins.

 

The healthcare company's operating earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation are expected to increase nearly 10% to INR 6.10 billion. The highest estimate for the EBITDA is INR 6.66 billion from Elara Securities and the lowest estimate is INR 5.52 billion from Axis Securities.

 

The company's operating EBITDA margin is expected to range from 21.8% to 23.0%, compared with 23.9% a year ago, partly due to ESOP costs. Fortis introduced the scheme in April for doctors and select employees to align their interests with the company's long-term growth and help retain key talent. During its June quarter earnings call, the company said the ESOP charge would be higher in the financial year 2026-27 (Apr-Mar) before declining in subsequent years.

 

The pace of profitability improvement at newer facilities, particularly Manesar and Greater Noida, will remain a key monitorable. Capacity expansion and the integration of acquired hospitals will also be important for revenue growth, while margin recovery will remain a key factor to watch.

 

Fortis Healthcare has not yet disclosed the date for its September quarter earnings. Friday, shares of the company ended at INR 712.90 on the National Stock Exchange, down 1.9%. The stock is down over 25% since the company reported its June quarter results.

 

Of the 11 brokerage reports on the company available with Informist, 10 have a "buy" call on the stock with an average target price of INR 1,081. This is nearly 52% higher than the current market price. One brokerage has a "hold" recommendation on the stock, with a target price of INR 1,030.

 

The following are the September quarter earnings estimates for Fortis Healthcare from eight brokerages, in the descending order of the estimates of net profit, in INR billion:

 

Brokerage	Net Sales	Net Profit	EBITDA
Elara Securities (India) Pvt. Ltd.	27.33	3.56	6.66
JM Financial Institutional Securities Pvt. Ltd.	27.45	3.45	6.31
Choice Equity Broking Pvt. Ltd.	27.34	3.24	6.29
Prabhudas Lilladher Pvt. Ltd.	26.81	3.17	6.07
SMIFS Ltd.	27.43	3.06	6.15
ICICI Securities Ltd.	27.06	2.97	5.90
Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.	27.01	2.96	5.93
Axis Securities Ltd.	26.17	2.81	5.52
Average	27.08	3.15	6.10

 

End

 

Edited by Biswadip Mitra

 

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