Aster DM Quality Care Limited reported combined pro forma revenue of ₹2,597 crore for the April-June quarter of FY27, an increase of 20 per cent from ₹2,156 crore in the corresponding period last year.
Operating earnings grew faster than revenue. Operating EBITDA, or earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, rose 30 per cent to ₹576 crore from ₹442 crore. The operating EBITDA margin expanded by 1.7 percentage points to 22.2 per cent.
The results represent the first earnings update from the company following the completion of the merger between Aster DM Healthcare and Quality Care India, which brought Aster, CARE Hospitals, KIMSHEALTH and Evercare under one listed entity.
The merger became effective on 1 July 2026, while the quarter under review ended on 30 June. Quality Care was therefore not part of Aster’s statutory consolidated accounts during Q1.
The ₹2,597 crore revenue and ₹576 crore operating EBITDA figures are pro forma numbers prepared by combining the performance of the two businesses as though they had operated together during the period.
In the statutory consolidated accounts of the legacy Aster group, which do not include Quality Care, revenue from operations rose 21.6 per cent to ₹1,310.68 crore from ₹1,077.87 crore a year earlier.
Profit before exceptional items, the share of losses from associates and tax increased 37 per cent to ₹200.85 crore from ₹146.55 crore.
The statutory accounts, however, included ₹114.38 crore in exceptional expenses relating to professional fees and other merger costs. Consequently, profit attributable to the company’s shareholders fell 81.2 per cent to ₹16.06 crore from ₹85.52 crore.
Total consolidated profit, including the share attributable to non-controlling interests, declined to ₹29.28 crore from ₹93.56 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.
Management-adjusted normalised profit after tax for the legacy Aster platform, excluding exceptional costs, increased 39 per cent to around ₹125 crore from ₹90 crore.
The combined network served 20.1 lakh patients during the quarter, 13 per cent more than a year earlier.
Occupancy improved by 5.1 percentage points to 64 per cent, while average revenue per in-patient increased 10 per cent to ₹1,36,802. The company attributed the increase to a more complex treatment mix, including robotic procedures, transplants and joint replacements.
The company had 10,559 operational beds at the end of June, compared with 10,193 a year earlier. Its total capacity, including beds not yet operational, stood at 10,898.
Mature hospitals accounted for 73 per cent of hospitals and clinics revenue. These hospitals recorded 19 per cent revenue growth and an operating EBITDA margin of 29.7 per cent.
Emerging hospitals, comprising facilities that have been operational for up to three years, grew revenue by 63 per cent. Their operating EBITDA margin stood at 12.4 per cent.
Kerala continued to be the most important geography for the legacy Aster business.
Revenue from Aster hospitals in Kerala increased 25 per cent to ₹687 crore and represented 54 per cent of Aster’s hospital revenue. Even after excluding the recently opened Kasaragod hospital, Kerala revenue grew 20 per cent.
In-patient volumes increased 16 per cent, while total patient volumes rose 19 per cent. Average revenue per in-patient increased 10 per cent to ₹1,12,610, and occupancy stood at 64 per cent.
These figures exclude Wayanad Institute of Medical Sciences and relate only to the legacy Aster platform, not the entire merged Kerala network.
The Kasaragod hospital achieved monthly EBITDA break-even in June, within nine months of commencing operations.
The combined company now has 11 hospitals and 4,642 capacity beds in Kerala, excluding Wayanad Institute of Medical Sciences. This includes hospitals operating under the Aster and KIMSHEALTH brands.
The merger could also allow specialist teams based in Kerala to serve a wider network. During the earnings call, management cited the deep brain stimulation programme based in Kochi as an example of clinical expertise that could be extended to KIMSHEALTH hospitals and other units in the combined network.
Management also said it expected the first phase of Aster Capital Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram to begin operations around January 2027.
In June, Aster and Quality Care announced plans to invest ₹1,661 crore in Kerala, add around 1,315 beds and create nearly 7,900 jobs.
Management said the Q1 performance was generated while Aster and Quality Care were operating independently. Integration work and the realisation of merger synergies began only in July.
The company has identified opportunities in procurement, medical consumables, capital expenditure, information technology, international patient acquisition, talent sharing, renewable energy and administrative costs.
It is targeting incremental EBITDA from merger synergies equivalent to 10-15 per cent of the combined entity’s FY24 pro forma EBITDA. Management said this could translate into an incremental EBITDA benefit of around ₹150-200 crore.
The company has also retained its medium-term ambition of raising its operating EBITDA margin to 24-25 per cent over the next two to three years.
Aster DM Quality Care plans to add 4,179 beds, increasing total capacity from 10,898 to 15,077.
Around 53 per cent of the new beds will be brownfield additions at existing hospitals. The remaining 47 per cent will be added through new facilities.
The company plans to add 634 beds in FY27, 1,190 in FY28, 1,555 in FY29 and another 800 from FY30 onwards.
Combined net debt stood at ₹1,162 crore as of 30 June. The legacy Aster platform had net cash of ₹511 crore, while Quality Care had net debt of ₹1,673 crore.
The results were released after market hours on 5 August. Aster DM Quality Care shares closed at ₹844.45 on 6 August, up 0.28 per cent from the previous close.
The stock touched ₹874 during the session, setting a new 52-week high, before giving up most of its intraday gains. Its market capitalisation at the closing price was approximately ₹73,600 crore.
The Q1 update points to strong momentum in patient volumes, occupancy and operating margins.
The focus now shifts to how effectively the two hospital platforms are integrated. Investors will need to watch the pace at which the identified synergies translate into earnings, execution of the bed-expansion programme and the company’s ability to maintain margins while integrating 39 hospitals.