“There is a lot of interest evinced by the investors to be part of Apollo HealthCo growth story,” Krishnan Akhileswaran, group chief financial officer of Apollo Hospitals, told ET in an interview. Apollo HealthCo houses the group’s digital health platform Apollo 24/7, pharmacy distribution business, and a 25.5% interest in Apollo Pharmacies.
It reported revenues of ₹6,705 crore and loss of ₹304 crore in FY23. While the offline pharmacy distribution business generated earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) of ₹534 crore in FY23, growing 31% year-on-year (YoY), the digital health business has been burning cash on an average to the tune of ₹180 crore per quarter.
Akhileswaran said the management is focusing on ways to narrow losses of its digital health unit even as it tries to grow.
“The cash burn would be far lower in FY24; the focus is on break-even by Q4FY24 for Apollo 24/7,” he said. Some of the measures initiated include reduction of discounts offered online to 15% from 18%, rationalisation of manpower, doubling of gross merchandise value (GMV) to ₹3,000 crore, and improving GMV conversion to revenue to about 50% from 42%, Akhileswaran said.
GMV refers to the value of goods sold via ecommerce platform. The company is hoping these measures will help in reducing quarterly costs by ₹25-₹30 crore from the second half of FY24.
