Fortis Healthcare, a leading integrated healthcare company in the Pan Asia-Pacific region, has suffered a setback during the third quarter ended December 2011 and its consolidated net profit declined by 15.2 per cent due to significant higher interest and employees cost. Its net profit declined to Rs.29.26 crore from Rs.34.50 crore in the corresponding period of last year. However, its EBDITA moved up to Rs.135.96 crore from Rs.90.79 crore in the last period. The company's interest burden increased to Rs.59.54 crore from Rs.21.10 crore and employees cost by 68 per cent to Rs.110.45 crore from Rs.65.83 crore.

Operating revenue from the hospital business was at Rs.482 crore, representing a robust growth of 30 per cent. The growth has been led by Fortis Escorts Jaipur, Fortis Escorts Faridabad, Fortis Mulund, Fortis BG Road, Fortis Shalimar Bagh and Fortis Anandpur. The company signed agreements with two hospitals adding 225 beds to the total capacity. This includes a super-speciality hospital in Hyderabad and a Cardiac Care Centre in Agra.

Commenting on the performance, Aditya Vlj, CEO, India Business, said, “The third quarter of the fiscal has witnessed a robust growth momentum for Fortis. WE remain committed to patient-centric healthcare and have renewed our focus on medical excellence, with the appointment of Dr Bishnu Panigrahi to lead our Medical Operations Group. We continue to expand our presence in India and have launched new medical programmes and growth initiatives across various hospitals.”

The net operating revenue of the diagnostic business (Super Religare Laboratories Ltd (SRL) and its subsidiaries & joint ventures) stood at Rs.122 crore. The contribution from pathology and radiology business stood at 75 per cent and 20 per cent respectively. During the quarter ended December 2011, SRL started two new labs and formally inaugurated two of its large facilities – imaging centre in New Delhi and a full service reference lab in Bangalore. The test menu at all Reference Labs, including the Joint Venture lab in Kathmandu, Nepal, was further strengthened. The hospital labs were upgraded to support the new hospital information management system.

During the third quarter, the company integrated Fortis Healthcare International Pte Ltd, a Singapore-based leading integrated healthcare delivery company, with a presence in nine countries. The deal was consummated in January 2012.

For the nine months ended December 2011, Fortis' income increased by 58.5 per cent to Rs.1,674 crore from Rs.1,056 crore in the similar period of last year. However, its consolidated net profit declined by 24 per cent to Rs.315.68 crore from Rs.415.56 crore.

On standalone basis its net profit for the first nine months of 2011-12 declined sharply to Rs.16.41 crore from Rs.107.99 crore in the same period of last year. Its standalone income for first nine months increased to Rs.198.58 crore from Rs.184.43 crore, representing a growth of 7.7 per cent.