After separating from GCC, funds will fuel Rs 1,500–2,000 crore inorganic growth over 3-5 years: Dr Azad Moopen

Aster DM Healthcare recently separated its India and GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) businesses, and the latter was sold to Alpha GCC Holdings for $1.01 billion. Aster Founder and Chairman Azad Moopen’s family now has a 35% stake and manages the GCC business, while Fajr Capital’s consortium holds 65%. Dr Moopen talks to BT about the separation, market response, and the ambitious three-year expansion plan. Edited excerpts: 

 The primary growth drivers for us include brownfield expansions, which unlock value swiftly compared to greenfield initiatives. We are actively identifying opportunities to increase bed capacity in every existing hospital. Simultaneously, we are focused on enhancing operational efficiency. A material cost reduction programme, in collaboration with a Big Four firm, has already resulted in a decrease of 200 to 250 basis points over the past two years. We anticipate further reductions by another 100 to 150 basis points. Efforts to improve margins and boost profitability involve controlling HR costs, with a targeted reduction of 300 to 400 basis points. Despite an overall margin of 16%, our hospital margin stands at 20%. Over the next two to three years, we aim to significantly increase our margins, leveraging these strategies. While I cannot provide specific guidance, these initiatives serve as levers to enhance our overall financial performance.

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