Dr Agarwals Health Care Ltd Q4 FY26 Earnings Call: Guides 60 New Centres for FY27, India EBITDA Margin at 30.2%

Dr Agarwals Health Care Ltd held its Q4 FY26 earnings call on May 21, 2026. Here's a quick read of what management said — performance, strategy, and the outlook ahead.

Full-Year & Quarter Highlights

• FY26 revenue from operations Rs.2,080 Cr— +21.6% YoY, with total income at Rs.2,125 Cr (+20.9%); India revenue stood at Rs.1,871 Cr (+21.7%).
• India EBITDA for FY26 at Rs.614 Cr— margin of 28.9% (+31 bps YoY); Q4 FY26 India EBITDA at Rs.174 Cr (margin 30.2%, the highest quarterly margin recorded).
• PAT for FY26 reached Rs.168 Cr— +52.4% YoY, margin expanding 164 bps to 7.9%; Q4 PAT at Rs.50 Cr (+17.4%, margin 8.7%).
• Surgical services contributed 67% of FY26 group revenue— total surgeries exceeded 3.23 lakh (+14.5% YoY), with cataract surgeries up 14.3% and other surgeries up 19.2%.
• Payer mix for FY26: cash 62.4%, insurance/TPA 28.5%, government schemes 9%— domestic mix: cash 72%, insurance/TPA 22%, government 6%.
• High-end cataract procedures rose to 26.3% of total cataract surgeries in FY26— up from 22.5% in FY25; robotic (femto) cataract procedures increased 87% to 5,900 cases.
• Other expenses increased in Q4 FY26— driven by a one-off merger expense of Rs.80 lakhs, Rs.3.3 Cr in Facebook marketing for FY26, and rental costs from a new corporate office occupied in December.

Network Growth, Capex & Regional Build-out

• Network reached 269 India + 19 Africa facilities at FY26 end— spanning 14 states, 5 union territories, and 155 cities; 19 greenfield facilities opened in Q4 FY26 alone.
• FY27 guidance: 60 new centres via copy-paste model (40 surgical, 20 clinics)— plus an additional 20 organic centres; 11 facilities already launched and 30 letters of intent ready; no acquisition pipeline currently in place.
• Surgical centre additions accelerating: 30 opened in FY26, 40 planned for FY27— a 33% increase in the volume of new surgical centre additions, with surgical mix salience rising from 20-30% to 40% over the past three years.
• Regional split for FY27 additions: South 24, North 16, West 15— FY26 revenue mix: South 61% (Rs.1,273 Cr, +22.6%), West 16% (Rs.341 Cr, +19%), North 9% (Rs.191 Cr, +20.7%).
• FY27 total capex guided at Rs.380-Rs.400 Cr— includes the new Chennai facility; acquisition-related cash payments guided at Rs.60-Rs.65 Cr in FY27, down from ~Rs.85 Cr incurred in FY26.
• Key bottlenecks to acceleration: real estate at right cost and clinical licences from local state authorities— management stated the team has built a pipeline capable of opening one centre per week and will assess further ramp-up if performance justifies it.
• One tertiary facility added in West (Thane) in FY26— one more tertiary facility planned in Thane main hospital for FY27, recently launched.

SSG Breakdown, Greenfield Drag & Cost Structure

• Same-store growth (SSG) contributed ~14% of the 22% overall revenue growth in FY26— volume growth ~7% (OPD growth ~5.5% plus improved conversion) and value growth ~7% (premiumization ~5%, price hikes ~1.5%).
• Mature centres (pre-FY22 cohort) delivered Rs.1,375 Cr (+14%) in FY26— representing 66% of group revenue; FY23 vintage Rs.257 Cr (+14%), FY24 vintage Rs.170 Cr (+16%), FY25 vintage Rs.223 Cr (+72%), FY26 additions contributed Rs.49 Cr.
• Greenfield branch drag: Rs.30 Cr operating loss for the FY26 cohort— versus Rs.21 Cr for the FY25 cohort; CFO confirmed a similar incremental drag in the Rs.30-Rs.40 Cr range expected from new surgical branches opening in FY27, with the number of surgical branches higher than the prior year.
• Doctor and employee costs stable at 33% of revenues in FY26— other expenses at 16.6% of total revenues; finance costs improved after repaying Rs.195 Cr of loans from IPO proceeds (Rs.128 Cr in Q4 FY25, Rs.67 Cr in H1 FY26).
• Mature centre growth breakdown for FY22 cohort: 7% volume and 7% value— with 5.5% of volume from walk-ins and 1.5% from superior surgical conversions; premiumization contributed 5% and price hikes 1.5% to value growth; average cataract price currently at Rs.41,000-Rs.45,000.
• Refractive surgeries saw softness in FY 2026-2027 (current year)— with cataract growing faster; however, high-end lenticular procedures grew 19% and management is premiumizing refractive procedures while engaging with insurers to support long-term growth once insurance coverage is settled.

Neo AI System, Clinical Board & Talent Pipeline

• Neo AI-ready hospital management system introduced across the entire network— designed to scale beyond 5,000 branches and support 2 million patients daily, representing a significant technology upgrade.
• Clinical board staffed by senior doctors oversees standardization of clinical outcomes— ensuring consistent quality across all markets from Srinagar to Tirunelveli.
• Company runs its own Institute of Optometry— offering a 3-year training programme plus 1-year internship to address the dearth of optometrists industry-wide (noted by Piyush Bansal).
• Postgraduate training for doctors conducted at three institutions— located in Chennai, Tirunelveli, and Cuttack, with a new surgical training programme recently established in Vashi, Navi Mumbai.
• Attrition at paramedical levels historically in the 21-25% range— fixed annual increments for paramedical staff estimated at 9.5-10%, in line with industry benchmarks (period unspecified).

FY27 Outlook, Chennai Facility & Corporate Merger

• Management expects FY27 growth to sustain at a similar pace to FY26— driven by deeper micro-market penetration, new geographies, advanced procedures, and stable EBITDA margins despite continued greenfield investment.
• New large Chennai facility targeted to commission by October 1, 2026— subject to final approvals; a "sizable improvement" in revenue and profitability expected, with a 12-18 month stabilization period post move-in; existing Chennai facility will continue operating alongside during this period.
• Merger of Dr. Agarwal's Health Care Ltd and Dr. Agarwal's Eye Hospital Ltd progressing— NCLT allowed joint first motion; meetings of shareholders and creditors scheduled for July 2, 2026; merger completion expected in Q3 FY 2026-2027 (~December 2026), subject to NCLT approval (estimated 5-6 months from call date).
• Remaining acquisition payments: ~Rs.6 Cr in FY27 and ~Rs.60 Cr total across FY28-FY30— CFO also clarified that FY26 greenfield branch losses of Rs.30 Cr allow a back-calculation of core business margin improvement.
• One-time merger and rental expenses for FY26 totalled ~Rs.80 lakhs to Rs.1 Cr— merger costs are non-recurring, while corporate office rent will continue; FY26 also included Rs.3.3 Cr in incremental Facebook marketing spend.