India's Dr Lal Path Labs posts higher Q3 profit on steady testing demand

Dr. Lal PathLabs

30/01/2025 09:19

Jan 30 (Reuters) - India's Dr Lal Path Labs  DLPA.NS 
reported a 19% jump in its third-quarter profit on Thursday, led
by continued demand for its bundle test offerings, sending its
shares 3% higher. 
    The company's consolidated net profit rose to 967 million
rupees ($11.2 million) in the three months to Dec. 31, from 813
million rupees a year earlier, but fell short of analysts'
estimate of 976.9 million rupees, according to data compiled by
LSEG. 
    An increasing awareness around health and wellness, coupled
with the expansion of diagnostics firms such as Dr Lal Path into
smaller cities, has boosted demand for medical tests.
    The company, which operates about 300 testing labs, said the
number of samples tested grew 10% during the quarter.
    Dr Lal Path has also benefited from strong demand for its
bundle test offerings, which combine tests for multiple diseases
such as hyperthyroidism and diabetes, analysts said.
    The company's revenue from operations met analysts'
estimates and climbed about 11% to 5.97 billion rupees.
    It declared a dividend of six rupees per share for the
fiscal year 2025. 
    Rival Metropolis Healthcare  METP.NS  is set to report its
third-quarter results next week.

($1 = 86.5630 Indian rupees)

 (Reporting by Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio
D'Souza and Mrigank Dhaniwala)
 ((Kashish.Tandon@thomsonreuters.com; 8800437922;))