India's Dr. LalPath Labs posts higher Q4 profit rises on healthy testing demand

Metropolis Healthcare

10/05/2024 10:06

BENGALURU, May 10 (Reuters) - Dr. Lal PathLabs
 DLPA.NS , India's biggest diagnostics firm by revenue, posted a
bigger profit for the fourth straight quarter on Thursday, led
by the addition of more labs and increased demand for medical
tests.
    The company's consolidated net profit jumped 49%
year-on-year to 845 million rupees ($10.1 million) in the fourth
quarter.
    Its shares climbed as much as 7.8% after the results before
trimming some gains to trade up about 6%. Rival Metropolis
Healthcare  METP.NS  was up about 2% and Thyrocare Technologies
 THYO.NS  gained about 1%.
    Analysts expect Indian diagnostic firms to benefit from
geographic expansions and price hikes.
    "We're expanding our reach in core markets by strengthening
our presence in Tier 3 and Tier 4 towns," Dr. Lal PathLabs Chief
Executive Officer-designate Shankha Banerjee said.
    The number of samples tested grew 8.5% during the quarter,
and was up roughly 10% for the fiscal year.
    The company, which operates more than 280 labs in India,
said total revenue climbed by 11% to 5.45 billion rupees.
    Thyrocare is scheduled to report its fourth-quarter results
next week.
 
 ($1 = 83.4872 Indian rupees)

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