Hospitals seeing a 20% plus Return on Capital Employed – Max Healthcare

Update on the Indian Equity Market:

On Wednesday, NIFTY closed 0.2% lower at 17,711. Top gainers in NIFTY50 were NTPC (+6.4%), COALINDIA (+6.2%), and POWERGRID (+6.7%). The top losers were HDFC (-2.1%), KOTAKBANK (-1.8%), and ASIANPAINT (-1.8%). The top gaining sectors were PSU (+2.7%), METAL (+2.3%), and PHARMA (+1.7%) while the top sectoral losers were PRIVATEBANK (-1.1%), FINANCIAL SERVICES (-0.9%), and FMCG (-0.6%).

Hospitals seeing a 20% plus Return on Capital Employed – Max Healthcare

Excerpts of an interview with Mr. Abhay Soi, chairman and managing director at Max Healthcare, aired on CNBC TV18 on 28^th September 2021:

• Hospitals are making 20 percent plus ROCE while receiving less than 1% of their income from COVID patients. At the current operating rate, the firm is generating free cash flows of around Rs 1,1000 million.
• The chairman indicated that a x% rise in revenue would improve free cash flows by roughly 2x%. He also stated that the firm will generate Rs 50 -60 mn in internal accruals alone over the next four to five years.
• The business’s present debt levels are lower than its EBITDA from the 2QFY22, and the company hopes to be debt-free by the 3QFY22. Over the following four to five years, the business intends to leverage its balance sheet to two times debt to EBITDA.
• The Company plans to expand its capacity in Gurugram, by building a 500-bed hospital in the next three to four years, at a budget of Rs. 35bn. At the moment, their hospitals are roughly 78% full. The deployment of funds would be limited to brownfields and greenfield, as well as some light asset models. The business has no plans to do Mergers & Acquisitions in the hospital space.
• The company intends to do acquisitions in the diagnostic space. In the Delhi NCR region, which has a population of 40 mn people it is currently the third biggest diagnostic chain.
• When speaking about retail business in terms of economic value and volume the company ranks 3^rd or 4^th in the country.

Asset Multiplier comments:

• We believe Max is entering a high growth phase led by expansion at Saket (Delhi) and Nanavati (Mumbai). It’s solid balance sheet and production of operational cash flow are anticipated to support organic and inorganic efforts.
• With a robust development strategy and a positive outlook for the retail sector, we believe Max Healthcare is well-positioned to capitalize on the opportunity in the Indian hospital market for offering quality healthcare services across the country.

Consensus Estimate: (Source: market screener, investing.com websites)

• The closing price of Max Healthcare was ₹ 356/- as of 29-September-2021.  It traded at 47x/37x/34x the consensus earnings estimate of ₹ 7.0/9.6/10.5 for FY22E/23E/24E respectively.
• The consensus price target is ₹ 385/- which trades at 35x the earnings estimate for FY24E of ₹ 10.9/-

Disclaimer: “The views expressed are for information purposes only. The information provided herein should not be considered as investment advice or research recommendation. The users should rely on their own research and analysis and should consult their own investment advisors to determine the merit, risks, and suitability of the information provided.”