Dr Lal Pathlabs skids 3% as Q3 net profit drops 39% YoY

NEW DELHI – Dr Lal Pathlabs shares shed close to 3 per cent in early trade Friday as the diagnostic services provider’s net profit in October-December dropped 39.3 per cent on-year to Rs 58.2 crore.

The counter fell to a low of Rs 2,850 as against the previous close of Rs 2,928.20 on the National Stock Exchange.

In the corresponding quarter last year, the company posted a net profit of Rs 95.9 crore, reports said, adding that total revenue for the quarter rose 9.8 per cent YoY to Rs 497 crore from Rs 452.4 crore in the year-ago quarter.

The company’s EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) dipped 21.3 per cent to Rs 109 crore in Q3 FY22 over Rs 139 crore in Q3 FY21. The EBITDA margin stood at 22 per cent in the third quarter of the current financial year as compared to 30.7 per cent a year ago.

Dr Lal’s operating revenue increased 9.8 per cent in October-December to Rs 496.9 crore against Rs 452.4 crore a year ago.

Normalised EBITDA (after adjustment for stock-based compensation, CSR & one-time acquisition cost) for the third quarter clocked in at Rs 141.8 crore - with margins contributing 28.5 per cent- against Rs 144.6 crore in the same quarter last year., reports said.

The company’s profit before tax was at Rs 81.5 crore in October-December as against Rs 128.9 crore the same period a year ago.

According to reports, as of March 31, 2021, the company has 231 clinical laboratories (including National Reference Lab at Delhi & Regional Reference Lab at Kolkata), 3,705 Patient Service Centers (PSCs) and 9,247 Pickup Points (PUPs).