Aster launches its 200nd pharmacy, and the stock reaches a 52-week high

After the firm said it had launched the 200th pharmacy in the nation, shares of private healthcare service provider Aster DM soared in the morning trade on September 6 and reached a 52-week high of Rs 261 on the BSE.

According to a press statement from the company, its retail chain expanded from 1 to 200 locations nationwide in just 18 months.

With the most recent, Kerala's 58th Aster Pharmacy was inaugurated. "We are adding more pharmacies to our network of hospitals, labs, clinics, and online consultation platform in our endeavour to bring omnichannel healthcare delivery to people's doorsteps," Aster DM Healthcare founder-chairman and managing director Dr. Azad Moopen remarked.

In order to increase its footprint, Aster Pharmacy is currently operating in the states of Karnataka, Kerala, and Telangana.

Aster Pharmacy CEO Rama Krishna D remarked, "We have been continually noticing a rising demand from different cities across India where consumers always hunt for trustworthy brands giving fairly priced, simply accessible pharmaceutical goods."

Aster DM reported a weak Q1FY23 performance due to losses from newly opened hospitals in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. However, the business forecasts that by Q4, GCC hospitals' EBITDA margins will increase to 17–18%.

By FY23 and FY24, respectively, the company hopes to achieve operating profit margins of 18 and 20 percent in the hospital sector in India.

Over the period of FY22–FEB24E, brokerage firm Prabhudas Lilladher anticipates a 9% EBITDA CAGR. With the brownfield expansion and new hospital ramp-up in the GCC, the margin in its India business will progressively increase, it was highlighted. It has a "buy" recommendation on the company with a target price of Rs 234 following the release of Q1FY23 financial results.

Aster was up 6.17 percent to Rs 255.50 at 11.23 a.m. on the BSE.