Profit before tax in Q3 December 2020 stood at Rs 22.85 crore, up by 4.49% from Rs 21.87 crore in Q3 December 2019. Current tax expenses during the quarter surged 145.16% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 4.09 crore.

On a standalone basis, Shalby reported 97.2% jump in net profit to Rs 16.3 crore on a 7.1% rise in revenue from operations to Rs 129.3 crore in Q3 FY21 over Q3 FY20.

EBITDA rose 32.9% to Rs 32.3 crore in Q3 December 2020 from Rs 24.3 crore in Q3 December 2019. EBITDA margin was at 24.5% as on 30 December 2020 as against 19.7% as on 30 December 2019.

Commenting on performance, Shanay Shah, president, said: "During the quarter, we treated over 2,700 COVID-19 patients across our hospital group and total surgeries performed were 1,840, a growth of 13.4% on quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) basis.

During the quarter, Shalby delivered robust performance that was in line with our expectations. This was driven by increased bed occupancy levels of 45% in Q3 FY21 as compared to 38% in the same quarter last year. The occupancy growth was underpinned by an increase in both the number of COVID-19 patients and elective surgeries.

Our balance sheet and cash flow generation remains strong with net cash of Rs 59.8 crore at the end of December 2020 compared with Rs 39.8 crore at the end of March 2020.

Looking ahead with a COVID-19 vaccine on the horizon, we are cautiously optimistic that a transition toward normalcy will soon begin although it will take time for the vaccine to have a pronounced effect on the pandemic.”

Shalby operates a multi-specialty chain of hospitals. Its hospitals are tertiary care hospitals, which offer quaternary healthcare services.