Jupiter Life Line Hospitals Limited (JLHL) Q1 2027 Earnings Call Transcript

Ladies and gentlemen, good day and welcome to the Jupiter Lifeline Hospital's limited Q1-FI-27-only conference call. As a reminder, all participants' lives will be in the listen-only mode. There will be an opportunity for you to ask questions after the presentation concludes. Should you need any assistance during this conference, please signal for an operator by pressing star and with zero on your touch-tone telephone. I now hand the conference over to Dr. Ankit Thakkar, Managing Director and CEO. Thank you, and over to you, sir.

Join us this Monday morning for our earnings call for Q1 FY20. Thank you. I'm joined today by Mr. Anand. Mr. Aditya Gupta, our Senior VP of Corporate Affairs, Mr. Nitin Pattodi, our Head of Finance, and our Investor Relations Advisors. The key update from this quarter is that Dombiwali Hospital has completed its first full quarter of operations. The reception from both the... This quarter has contributed to a 9.5 crore drag on the EBITDA, pretty much in line with anticipation. The other three operating hospitals So, let me directly give you... The EBITDA stood at 411 crores in Q1 of FY27. The EBITDA stood at 79.3 crores with a margin of 19.3%. This is 73,500, and... College occupancy rates stood at 59.6%. With this, we will see you in the next video.

Thank you very much, sir. Ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin with the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may enter star followed by one on the touchstone telephone. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may enter star followed by two. Participants are requested to please use only handsets while asking a question. We will wait for a moment while the question queue assembles. The first question is from the line of Dhwanisha from DSP. Please go ahead.

Yeah, hi. Thank you for this opportunity. I had a couple of questions. Firstly, on the indoor unit, how I'm looking at it is, you know, the standalone numbers and the control numbers, the differential. Just wanted to understand, while the revenue growth is 10%, we understand on a higher base last year, the EBITDA margins have come in at a lower 12%. How are we thinking about this, and is there anything specific you want to call out for this quarter? Yeah.

Hi, Dhani. So, in those, as I said, we are getting ready for the next phase of expansion.

Would you be able to quantify this number?

I don't have the exact quantified number, but a couple of clause of, you know, new.

On a like-for-like basis, excluding the 5 crore revenue earned last year in Domivoli and 9.5 crore loss that we took on, can we expect a 13% to 14% growth in the existing units EBITDA this year as well?

So, as I have said earlier, I don't model it on a unit-to-unit basis, but qualitatively, I could help you understand the existing units better. I'm a unit.

And just one last accounting question. Last year in the Q2 numbers, we had seen a change on accounting policy mainly due to the unbilled revenues. How do we think about this affecting the next two, three quarters growth or should we not?

So, unbuilt revenue, honestly, is not a huge factor, because it was a one-time factor because of change in policy last quarter. But otherwise, like for like, it essentially negates each other out, because at the beginning of the quarter, you know, you lose out on part of the revenue, and in the end of the quarter, you gain a part of the unbuilt revenue for a steady state operations like a hospital. You know, day-to-day revenue volatility or occupancy volatility, it should not really matter. After that, if you see, it will be.

Fair. And just one last thing on Dombevili. Just want to understand what kind of fixed costs are we operating on per quarter basis, and are we done with all the doctor hiring in Dombevili?

Doctor hiring is an ongoing process. You start with a few, and you keep adding. This is the doctor hiring question. Fixed cost, I think, should be 6-7 crores for a month.

Thank you. Thank you. By response with questions, please enter star followed by one on your handset. The next question is from the line of Palkesh Jens from Transparent Value. Please go ahead. Mr. Jai, please ask your question. Yeah, we are not able to hear you.

Sorry, sorry, sorry. Thanks for the opportunity. So, I just want to ask a couple of questions. So, first is, like, you had a dialogue for your question.

Your point is not clear. It is very muffled. I am not able to understand what you are saying.

Hello. So, now, yeah.

Slightly better, not great.

Okay, sorry. So, like you have KVAC guidance for operation, there is a loss of total 3 crores per month.

Yes.

So, was the guidance based on currently operational 200 batch or did it factor the commission of 200 batch?

It is based on the currently operating batch. I see.

Okay, okay. And one more question, although as the new additional bag becomes operational, so to do it, expect the EBITDA loss to increase temporarily before improving.

When we do this, there may be a little drop in margins, but it will not. Once this expanded capacity then starts flowing and again reaches the 40%, we'll hurry out the next round of capex and occupancy expansion. This will not result in loss. Losses are only anticipated in the initial one or two years of operations. After that, you will see fluctuating percentage of occupancy and margin, but you will not see losses in EBITDA. That is the way we planned.

Understood. Thank you, sir. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Participants who wish to ask any questions may enter star followed by one. Our next question is from the line of Sukrit Patel from iSight FinTrade. Please go ahead.

Good morning to the team. My first question to Mr. Aniket is, beyond the regular outlook, I just want to understand what are the top two to three execution priorities you're focusing on in the next few quarters, and alongside that, what do you see as the biggest risk in borrower demand shifts, interest rate movements, or competitive pressures, and how are you preparing?

Yeah, continue.

So, the line for the current participant was disconnected. We'll move on to the next question. The next question is from the line of Dikshan Gupta from Geojet PMS. Please go ahead.

Yeah. Hi. Good morning, sir. So, I just wanted to know, like, this quarter is 10%. So, can you just explain the reasons behind it? Like, is it because of pricing or is it because of ramp-up? So, on an ongoing basis, what is the expectation that we can have?

So, broadly inflation-linked growth for the mature units and for the new units, inflation higher than inflation because case mix keeps improving for a few years. You start a hospital with more of secondary kind of work and over the quarters or years, you start doing more And more of tertiary and quaternary. So, first few years, higher than inflationary growth in ARPOP. Eventually, once it matures, then only inflationary growth in ARPOP.

And what margin, coming to margin profiles for FY23 and it, so can we expect like down 20-21% for the full year?

Thank you.

And just last one from my side. So for indoor, what is the current occupancy? Okay, thank you so much.

Okay.

Thank you. Participants, if you have any questions at this time, please enter star followed by one on your handset. The next question is from the line of Sakshi Pratap from Pratap Securities. Please go ahead.

Hi, sir. Thanks for the opportunity. So, just one question. So, at the current case of patient tradition, When do we realistically expect the Ombevili Hospital to achieve EBITDA break-even and your earlier guidance of 1.5 to 2 years, is that still hold? And also, are you seeing the possibility of reaching break-even sooner than that?

No, the guidance still holds.

Understood. Thank you, sir.

Thank you. For questions, please enter star and one. The next question is from the line of Amaya Chalke from JM Financial. Please go ahead.

Yeah, thank you so much for taking my question, and congrats for managing good numbers. I have joined the call late, so if I have repeated the question, then please pardon me. So our first question is on Dombivli Hospital. Is it possible to give occupancy level at Dombivli at present, and do you expect any increase in fixed costs in the remaining of the quarters?

The occupancy should be around 25-30% I think.

Sure. At present, how many doctors would be there in the unit? So, so maybe it can go up to like 70, 80 doctors at the full capacity?

Eventually, it will mimic, you know, all others, like what Thana has. The scale of the hospital is big.

Sure. The second question I have is we have recently acquired a company to set up an IV unit. If you can explain the strategic thoughts here. And also, we have seen hospitals having diagnostic from pharmacy companies, but we have never seen a hospital company acquiring a manufacturing plant. So your thought process would be helpful to understand what we are thinking here, and also it will help us to get some clarity on the capital allocation as well, because going ahead, we have so many hospitals lined up. So that is also one more question I have, like how that will evolve going ahead.

Sure, it's a little... Thank you. Thank you.

Sure. So, last question I have on the base business profitability. It has improved sharply over the last two quarters particularly. 4Q also, it was well above 25-26%. So, what are the three drivers here, and which hospitals between Thane and Pune are driving this at present?

So, I think Thane and Pune both have similar operating profiles. In terms of this quarter, we have Q1 generally has been the weaker quarters, Q1 and Q3.

Sure. So, Purni has reached to the match web profile in terms of margins, you mean to say, where Thani is.

Pretty much. Pretty much.

Sure. Thank you so much. I will join right now.

Thank you. Participants with questions may please enter star followed by one on your handset. The next question is from the line of Abdul Qadar Puranwal from ICICI Securities. Please go ahead.

Yes, thank you for the opportunity. So, if I look at your quarterly growth figures and compare this to FI26, so we delivered close to a 14% growth from the four hospitals, and this quarter we are at close to 16.4% with normally kind of ramping up well. So, just wanted to understand, you know, while Dhani, you mentioned that, you know, it will grow in line with the inflationary price like what you will take. At Pune, are we seeing some kind of a revenue growth slowdown in the quarter?

Pune, revenue growth can't be very sharp now because, as I said, you know, you are at the mid 60% occupancy now. It can go to 75%, but in terms of the base, It means the last 50 odd percent of growth opportunity. So, the growth will not stagnate, but it will plateau from year onwards or slow down from year onwards in terms of percentage high, unlike in the earlier phases where you see a more sharper growth.

No, that's pretty well understood. Thank you. And secondly, on Dombivli, so in the first quarter itself, when we reached at 25 to 30 percent kind of an occupancy, and typically I would believe that at 50 to 60 percent, this facility would kind of break even. So any reason why we are still holding on our guidance, especially after such a blockbuster start to that hospital?

So, guidance is kind of based on some assumptions of insurances and some past experiences. Currently, I don't think we want to be very adventurous and aggressive in guidance. Let us see how the next one or two quarters perform, and then if we think that there is need to revise, I'll be happy to do that. But just with one quarter behind us, I don't want to...

Sure, sir. And last one, if I may. So, FA26, you had a gross debt of, say, almost 509 crores. So, sir, ahead, with the CAPEX lined up, you know, how should we look at your debt levels?

So, the specific, you know, CAPEX outlay I have included in the presentation. And the thought process is that our internal approvals, we cash in hand, should pretty much see us through for the next few years.

To ask questions, please enter star and one. The next question is from the line of Janarder Sharma. Please go ahead.

Hello. Good morning, everyone. Thanks for the opportunity. We have observed that the shares pledged in favor of Catalyst trusteeship have increased materially over the past few disclosures. So, could you help us understand? Whether this is due to additional debenture issuance, refinancing, or existing borrowings, or some other reasons. And also, could you quantify the outstanding debt secured by these pledged shares? And let us know whether investors should expect any further increase in pledged shares going forward. And one more question, what is the total debt and cash as on books as of today? Thank you.

Thank you. We did get some offline call about this because of which I am ready. First, uh, And your last question was about debt and cash, so currently we are at pretty much zero net debt. I don't know the exact number, but roughly 500 crores of dreads with 500 crores of cash, broadly that is.

All right. And one more question. If we look at Jupiter Lifeline hospitals 50 years, 20 years down the line, where do you expect yourself and what are the challenges that you could see? I'm not talking about the long term tragedy here about almost 15, 20 years. So I just want to understand your view and where do you see our company going forward? Thank you.

On a more granular level, currently, I only have a five-year visibility, which is we would like to see that all three projects that we have announced should be delivered in these five years. On an ongoing basis, along the way, we continue to see.

Thank you. Thank you so much, and really appreciate your time. All the best. Thank you.

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, any questions, please enter star and one. The next question is from the line of Raj Mehta from Wisdom Advisors. Please go ahead.

Yeah. Hi, sir. Good morning, and thanks for the opportunity. So, sir, could you share the current payer mix for the Dombey Value Hospital? And additionally, once the insurance empanelment process is completed, what kind of improvement in occupancy do you expect towards the next few quarters?

The initial phase is it. I can't really visualize the specific occupancy bump after the empanelment, but definitely it reduces the friction. This is a cumulsome process for the patients. Reimbursement.

Understood, sir. That was helpful. Thank you, and all the best. Thank you.

Thank you. The next question is from the line of Anubarb Sangal from Anandarathi. Please go ahead.

Thank you for taking my question, sir. My question would be, is this for a clarification? As you mentioned that there is only around 500 crores of debt, 500 crores of cash. You have mentioned in the QT that there was a higher finance cost owing to an increase in debt for ongoing cash. So, the 500 crore debt includes the increase in debt that you mentioned.

Your voice is a little unclear. What was the last line, the 500 crore debt is?

So, the 500 crore debt that you have mentioned, the higher finance cost owing to an increase in debt for ongoing capex that you have mentioned in the PPT.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Right. So, the 500 crore debt includes the increase in debt that you have mentioned?

Yes. So, it is 500 crore. I don't know the exact number. It will be there in the uploaded financials. But, yeah, this includes the final number.

Okay, sir. Thank you.

Thank you. To ask questions, please enter star, followed by one. The next question is from the line of Dikshan Gupta from GeoJCMS. Please go ahead.

Thank you for the response.

Sorry to interrupt, sir. We are not able to hear you very clearly.

Yes. Hello.

Yes. Go ahead.

I just wanted to get your view, like currently, do you have any plans for getting CBA or Dombevili? I know you have said that we are not comfortable, but we are still given access, especially for Dombevili is an option.

What was that? Do you have plans for what? CBA check.

Hello.

Sorry, sir, we are not able to hear you. Could you return this question to you?

Hello. Am I certain?

A little bit.

Yeah, so, just wanted to get you, like, do you have any plans for CGHS for Domini right now?

Not immediately, though, again, as I had said earlier, with the...

Okay, okay. And which specialty are you spending in Tongvibli right now?

Oncology is yet to be fully launched. The radiation and linex, etc. should come.

And final question from my side. So, I just wanted to get your view more on the rationale behind choosing BKC as a location. So, given that it's a very premium area, it's not a residential area. So, why was a hospital chosen in such an expensive location?

Thank you.

Thank you. The next question is from the line of Amit Ahuja from BJ Capital. Please go ahead.

Hello, am I audible?

Yes.

Yes. Thank you for giving me this opportunity. So, like, my question is, On the Dombolio Hospital, so could you provide an understanding of the month-on-month trend in patients' footfalls? Like, are patients' volume ramping up in line with your expectations, and how do you see this strategy factory evolving over the coming quarters?

Yeah, so there is a gradual increase month-on-month.

Ladies and gentlemen, that was the last question. I now hand the contents over to the management for closing comments.

So, thank you, everyone. I hope the answers were satisfactorily understood. However, if there is any further clarification needed or if you have further questions, please feel free to contact the SGA team and they will be able to put us in touch. Thank you and have a good day.

Thank you, sir. On behalf of Jupiter Lifeline Hospitals Limited, that concludes this conference. Thank you for joining, and you may now disconnect your line. Thank you.