India (Commonwealth Union)_ According to top corporate sources, the Indian healthcare giant Apollo Hospitals has devised a INR 3,000 crore capital expenditure plan to increase its current bed capacity by 2,000 more beds over the next three to four years. As of December 2022, the Apollo Hospitals network had a total of 7,855 operating beds, excluding the beds handled by Apollo Health & Lifestyle Ltd, which also includes 14 new hospitals with 2,384 operating beds.
Suneeta Reddy, managing director of the hospital network, told investors that over the next two years, the hospital will launch two brownfield hospitals in Bengaluru with a total of 400 beds. Further, the healthcare company also bought a brownfield hospital in Chennai’s Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR) and another healthcare property in Gurugram with the capacity for 650 beds over 7-lakh square feet from Nayati Healthcare and Research NCR Private Limited for about INR 450 crore last year.
According to Reddy, the Chennai and Gurugram brownfield hospitals would be ready by 2025 with a capacity of 1,000 beds. However, she said that the short-term obstacle to increasing the bed count is the occupancy rate. Until December, occupancy at healthcare services was 65 percent. Reddy stated that the objective is to surpass 70%. According to A Krishnan, Group CFO at Apollo Hospitals, the organization has a well-defined plan for achieving its capex objectives. According to him, the corporation has a free cash flow of INR 800 crore accessible for this purpose, and further debt may be obtained if needed. The expansion will occur by organic and inorganic means.
Regarding the performance and success of the Apollo Proton Center in Chennai, Krishnan stated, “This year, we are on track to get INR 50 crore in EBITDA and we expect it to double next year.” Regarding the proposed equity sale of its digital health platform (Apollo 24/7), Reddy stated that it is impossible to obtain the platform’s correct valuation in the present market. She said, “Apollo 24/7 is differentiated in many ways because it’s not just an online pharmacy but connects all of Apollo’s physical offerings.” She added, “We have enough capital to grow it for the next six months and by which time we are sure, we will have an investor there”.
