Aggressive expansion of corporate hospitals

According to a recent report by ICRA, the country's leading corporate hospital companies are preparing for a large-scale expansion in the next two years. They have decided to set up new medical facilities with an investment of about ₹32,000 crore by the financial year 2027. With this investment, 14,500 new beds are going to be added. This is an increase of 26 percent compared to the existing bed capacity.

11 listed hospital chains and 2 large unlisted companies are playing a key role in this expansion. The number of hospitals and bed capacity will increase significantly in metro cities as well as tier-2 and tier-3 cities. This expansion is being given priority especially in areas with poor medical facilities like Nagpur, Lucknow, Ongole and Coimbatore.

Apollo Hospitals is leading in South India and is increasing the capacity of new hospitals and beds. Fortis Healthcare is expanding in North India, especially in the NCR region. Manipal Hospitals has already expanded its footprint by merging with companies like Columbia Asia, AMRI, and Sahyadri. Max Healthcare is setting up hospitals in new cities, while Yatharth Hospitals is strengthening its presence in Delhi-NCR. Wockhardt Hospitals is expanding in states like Maharashtra and Gujarat.

ICRA expects bed occupancy to be 62-64 percent in FY26, while average revenue per bed (ARPOB) is expected to grow by 6-8 percent per year. The operating profit margin (OPM) is expected to remain between 22-24 percent, and return on capital employed (RoCE) to be 13-15 percent, the report said. Despite the huge investments, the debt-to-income ratio (Debt/OPBDITA) is likely to be only 2.4-2.6 times.

This expansion will help in making modern healthcare services more accessible across the country.