Aster Healthcare to invest Rs 1,000 crore in five new hospitals

Aster DM Healthcare, the Kochi-based, is one of the few publicly traded hospitals chains in the country. The company plans to increase over 2,000 beds at an investment of over Rs 1,000 crore in the upcoming next two to three years in five new places outside Kerala.

The hospital chain, which began as a drug distributor in 1987 in Dubai, plans to add one more facility each in Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai and two more in Andhra.

The chain presently manages six hospitals in the country with 4,500 beds, of which 3,000 beds are in Kerala and the rest in three other states. It additionally operates 1,000 beds within six hospitals in the Gulf which is its cash-cow with over 70 per cent of the revenue flow, covering all GCC countries.

Aster by now runs two facilities with 500 beds in Bengaluru, one each in Vijayawada and Gutur in Andhra and a 300-bed facility in Kohlapur in southern Maharashtra.

Of about 38 per cent that are owned by Dr Moopen and his family, who is also founder and chairman of the group. Aster counts in PE majors Olympus Capital which owns around 23 per cent and True North which had held 10.4 per cent but had sold 7 per cent in June as its investors.

According to Dr Moopen, the 500-beds Chennai facility will be effective over the next 30 months and the addition of the Rs 1,000 crore capex plan does not incorporate the 500-beds upcoming facility in the Kerala capital Thiruvananthapuram.

Aster is the largest facility in Kochi with 670 beds and was in news recently after it successfully treated a youth for the deadly Nipah virus. The patient was wheeled in early June with the symptoms of the deadly virus, which had taken 18 lives last year in state. After being treated for 53 days, the patient went home on July 23 and credit goes to this hospital.  The state has not reported any other Nipah case this year. 

According to Dr Harish Pillai, chief executive at Aster India, the company is keen for expansion so it plans to enter market in Mumbai and tap the growing heath tourism, but it still lack a ready infrastructure and the extremely high rentals are a roadblock for them. 
Bu for now they are focused on entering Kolkata and Pune.

The Aster DM Group, which runs 25 hospitals, 115 clinics and over 231 pharmacies in nine countries, is also preparing to launch a large clinical lab chain in Bengaluru as a new vertical. As per Moopen, they have already hired the top management and will start operations soon.

The recommended lab will compete with SRL Ranbaxy, Dr Pathlabs, and Way2health.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.