Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited Q1 FY23 Earnings Conference Call Insights

Key highlights from Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited (APOLLOHOSP) Q1 FY23 Earnings Concall

Q&A Highlights:

• Nitin Gosar from Invesco asked about the increase in operating cost in 24/7. Sanjiv Gupta CFO Apollo 24/7 replied that it was due to holding of some expenditure from Q3 to Q1 and Q2. But beyond that, the company doesn’t expect expenditure to go up sequentially.

• Sameer Baisiwala from Morgan Stanley asked about ALOS, what’s driving it down, excluding the COVID quarters and the outlook of it. Suneeta Reddy MD answered that the company is focused on driving down the ALOS, by using robotics and minimally invasive, which enables to discharge patients much faster.

• Sameer Baisiwala from Morgan Stanley asked about the Gurgaon project, how much capex is required for the project. Suneeta Reddy MD replied that the company has paid INR450 crores for 5.67 acres. Also there is a building existing for which maximum another INR350 crores will be invested, taking the project cost to INR 900 crore maximum.

• Damayanti Kerai from HSBC enquired about Apollo 24/7 spend, where it is happening the most. Sanjiv Gupta CFO Apollo 24/7 clarified that 25% is the expenditure that is getting into the product and the technology side of it, 30-35% is getting into the augmenting of resources and 20-25% into branding, 10-15% into user acquisition and remaining 8-10% towards other infrastructure, mainly support.

• Damayanti Kerai from HSBC asked about strong ARPOB numbers, and if it includes a component of price hike and if this growth is sustainable. Sanjiv Gupta CFO Apollo 24/7 answered that on ARPOB, there was a price hike of 2% and the growth is inclusive of that. And also the company said there are good levers helping to get the ARPOB and it is sustainable.

• Sumit Gupta of Motilal Oswal asked about the routine and project capex plans for the hospital segment. Sanjiv Gupta CFO Apollo 24/7 said that routine capex is approx. INR300 crores. After that the free cash flow will be INR800 crore, which is what will be used for deployment in new projects etc.

• Shaleen Kumar from UBS asked about the contribution from COVID vaccine at EBITDA level in a base quarter.  Sanjiv Gupta CFO Apollo 24/7 replied there was only INR11 crores of revenue in 1Q23 and EBITDA somewhere around 12-13%. And in 1Q22, it was INR211 crores revenue and EBITDA 15%.

• Shaleen Kumar from UBS enquired when APOLLOHOSP will be able to close the external fund raise that was pushed by six months. Suneeta Reddy MD replied that the external fund raise should be closed by December 2022.

• Prakash Agarwal with Axis Capital asked about future margins, given new hospitals are getting added. C. Chandrasekhar CEO said that the occupancy is at 60% now and is expecting to increase it to 70% over the next 12-15 months. This would increase volumes by 15% and consequently revenue by 25% and EBITDA by 35%.