India’s Dr Lal Path Labs beats quarterly profit view on medical testing boom

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(Reuters) -Dr Lal Path Labs, India’s largest diagnostics firm by revenue, reported fourth-quarter profit above expectations on Friday as strong demand for its bundled test packages lifted growth amid rising health awareness in the country.

The company’s consolidated net profit jumped 83.2% year-on-year to 1.55 billion rupees (about $18 million) in the quarter ended March 31, beating analysts’ average estimate of 1.02 billion rupees, as per data compiled by LSEG.

Dr Lal’s shares, which were trading down 1.2%, jumped nearly 6% after results.

A rising emphasis on preventive healthcare, along with the expansion of diagnostics firms like Dr Lal Path Labs into smaller cities, has fueled demand for medical tests, especially in urban India.

Moreover, the company benefited from strong demand for its bundled tests offerings, which combine tests for multiple conditions, such as diabetes and thyroid, under one, analysts said.

Dr Lal, which operates about 300 clinical labs across India, saw a 9.5% y/y rise in sample volume in the reported quarter, taking its total revenue from operations 10.5% higher to 6.03 billion rupees. Analysts expected revenue to come in at 6.04 billion rupees.

Rival Metropolis Healthcare will report its March-quarter results in the coming weeks.

($1 = 85.4100 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru; Editing by Sumana Nandy)