Ladies and gentlemen, good day and welcome to Vijaya Diagnostic Q1 FY 2026 earnings conference call hosted by JM Financial Institutional Securities Limited. As a reminder, all participants' lines will be in listen-only mode, and there will be an opportunity for you to ask questions after the presentation concludes. Should you need assistance during this conference call, please signal an operator by pressing star, then zero on your touch-tone phone. Please note that this conference is being recorded. I now hand over the conference to Mr. Amey Chalke from JM Financial Institutional Securities Limited. Thank you, and over to you, sir.
Thank you, Parikh. Good evening, everyone. I, Amey Chalke, on behalf of JM Financial, welcome you all to the 1Q FY 2026 earnings call of Vijaya Diagnostic. As I would say, I thank the management of Vijaya for giving this opportunity to host the call. I'm looking forward to having an insightful interaction on the quarterly earnings and the outlook here on the road. Today, from the company, we have with us Mr. Sunil Reddy, Executive Director, Mr. Sivaramaraju, Vice President Operations, and Mr. Dhiren Gala, Assistant General Manager, Strategy and Investor Relations. I now hand over the call to the management for their opening remarks. Over to you, sir.
Thank you, Amey. This is Sunil Reddy, Executive Director. Thank you for hosting the call. So, good evening, everybody, and thank you all for joining this call. I will begin by sharing the business updates, followed by the financial highlights for the quarter ended 30th June 2025. I'm pleased to begin my address on a positive note, highlighting that we have delivered a strong year-on-year revenue growth of 20.4%, with our Hyderabad market's contribution returning to double-digit growth this quarter. The strong performance was largely driven by volume and change in the test mix. I'm also happy to state that all the new hubs, which we have started in Pune, Bangalore, and West Bengal, are up and running with steady footfall.
We remain optimistic about achieving break-even across all centers within the 12 months, with one hub center in Bangalore on track to reach break-even even earlier than the estimated timeline. I'm also pleased to share that our Nizamabad hub center in Telangana has achieved break-even within two quarters of its operations. Looking ahead, we will be commissioning three hubs in Q2 of FY 2026 across our core geography in West Bengal. The other two hubs in West Bengal are also on track to be operationalized in the second half of FY 2026. Earlier calls, we have mentioned that we will be doing 10 hubs in this financial year. So, just keep in mind that I'm just giving you updates on that, and we are on track to do that. I'll also take you through the financial performance and key developments for the current quarter.
The consolidated revenue for the current quarter stood at INR 188 crores, reflecting a strong revenue growth of about 20.4% year-on-year. The revenue growth was driven by test volume growth of 17% year-on-year and change in the test mix, and the patient footfall also grew by 14% year-on-year. Coming to EBITDA, we delivered a healthy margin of 39.1% in spite of underscoring the strength of our business model. And this is in spite of the drag from the launch of multiple hubs during the current quarter. The strong growth momentum in our core network drove meaningful operating leverage, which helped us in delivering strong margins, and also the PAT margin is very healthy at 20.4%. Coming to updates on the capital investments as discussed earlier, we commissioned a total of five hubs and one spoke in the current quarter.
Again, the background is that in this year, we planned 10 hubs in the financial year, so already five hubs have been done. To conclude, we are encouraged by the positive reception our brand has received in newly operational hubs in new geographies, and also our existing network continues to witness growing footfalls as Vijaya steadily gains market share driven by our integrated offering with a comprehensive portfolio under one roof. We are well positioned to capitalize on the evolving diagnostic landscape, where increasing awareness is driving greater emphasis on brand, trust, quality, and wellness. That's all from my side, and I would now request the moderator to open the line for questions and answers. Thank you, and thank you, Amey, for hosting the call.
Thank you very much. We will now begin the question-and-answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star and one on their touch-tone telephone. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may press star and two. Participants are requested to use handsets while asking a question. Ladies and gentlemen, we will wait for a moment while the question queue assembles. The first question is from the line of Nancy Yadav from Allegro . Please go ahead.
Hi, sir. Thank you for the opportunity. Congrats on a great set of numbers. I just wanted to get two numbers. Could you tell me the net cash number for the quarter end?
The cash position as of 30th June is about INR 270 crores, and if you take the net cash after the capital creditors, it is about INR 220 crores.
Okay. Understood. Sir, could you also give an idea of the shift in lease liabilities from the previous quarter?
We didn't get the question, Nancy. Could you repeat that?
I'm just trying to ask the lease liabilities number itself.
Lease liabilities?
Yes.
We have an addition of five hubs in this quarter, Nancy, out of which two hubs, the rental started in the last quarter itself. If you see the actual moment, I think it is about [audio distortion] crore. Increase in liabilities is about a crore.
All right. Understood. Thank you so much, sir. All the best.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Anshul from Emkay Global. Please go ahead.
Hi. Thank you for the opportunity. Hope I'm audible.
Yes, Anshul. How are you? Good evening.
Good evening, sir. All good. Sir, a couple of questions. First, on any reason for this strong momentum in a seasonally weak quarter? Is it because monsoons have come in quicker than anticipated, or was there any pent-up demand from Q4? Any particular reason for the strong volume growth in the quarter?
No. I would say it's just, I think, a function of the brand. In the home market, what has happened is that we are seeing all centers getting more footfalls, and more business is shifting to us from maybe the unorganized sector. And as you can see, the new centers are all outside of Hyderabad. So, I mean, people like you have expected that this would be a drag on business and EBITDA, but that has not happened. Bangalore is doing well. Nizamabad is doing well. Whatever we have opened in Kolkata is doing well. So, [Foreign language] , everything is doing well.
Yes. So, you're calling that there's no one-off as such because of any particular reason, and this growth momentum could continue for the remainder of the year as well?
Anshul, one-off can be too. We don't know the extent, so it can be only just 1%-1.5%, which happened in the initial days of April, right, from April 1 - April 10. But otherwise, what we have seen in the quarter is, across these three months, we have seen the average daily revenue went up from May to April and from June to May. While we don't want to comment anything on the exact number going forward, but then it's basically for the last seven to eight quarters, except one quarter, I think we were doing fairly well, growing more than 17%, 18%.
Got it. That's useful, and to allude, as a follow-up question to what Sunil sir was saying, that if you could quantify the drag because of these newly commissioned hubs in the current quarter. I'm trying to understand there's hardly any margin dip in the current quarter despite commissioning these hubs. If you could just quantify the drag?
There is no.
Yeah.
So, basically, Anshul, that is what I was saying, that there is no drag. All the hubs have actually done well. The new hubs in new geographies have done well. So, because of that, there is not much of a drag on the margins or the revenue.
So, yeah, like sir said, the drag was much lower than what we expected because these centers are doing well. And also, because of the leverage that we are getting from the growth from the existing network, that helped us keeping the margins intact at 39.1%.
Just one clarification on this, Siva. Generally, when hubs reach, say, about 50% of their potential or slightly lower than that, we used to break even. Does that still hold true, or very difficult to fathom whether within the first two months itself, the ramp-up has been so strong?
So, basically, again, it depends from hub to hub, Anshul, but generally, the hubs will break even when they reach 33%, 1/3 of its capacity, right? And again, like sir said, so basically, the drag initially that we expected was slightly higher number, but it was only close to around 1.2%. But again, because of the operating leverage, the operating leverage played well, and that basically took care of this 1.2% of drag.
Got it. And all expenses of these commissioned hubs would be in Q1, right? There would not be any?
No, too, sir. For certain hubs, it is only half quarter because we started centers in Kolkata, and also the centers like Kalyani Nagar, they started only in the month of May, so it's only about close to one to one and a half months of the operational expenditure.
Got it. Got it. Just one more question from my end. Have we started finalizing plans for hub additions in FY 2027? How does FY 2027 look like, and any guidance on CapEx numbers for both FY 2026 and FY 2027 would be useful?
Basically, like we always do, we are scouting for locations across these geographies that we have mentioned, both in our core geographies and also Bangalore, Kolkata, and Pune. Maybe we'll be in a better position to answer this question by the next call because we are still in talks with the landlords, and we are still scouting for a few more locations. Maybe by next call, we'll have an answer, Anshul.
Anshul, for FY 2026, the guidance is the overall CapEx for the newer centers would be around INR 150 crores-INR 155 crores, and replacement CapEx would be anywhere between 2%-3% of the overall top line.
Got it. Thanks, Dhiren. I have other questions. I'll fall back in the queue. Thank you so much.
Thank you. Before we take the next question, we would like to remind participants, you may press star and one to ask a question. Thank you. The next question is from the line of Manik Bansal from Master Capital Services. Please go ahead.
Hi, sir. Thank you for the opportunity. So, my question is, what is the strategic rationale behind not participating in the PPP model that is working under the National Health Mission right now, that is gaining a lot of traction?
Sorry, we couldn't hear you, actually.
Hello? My voice is audible now?
Yeah. Now much better.
Yeah. So, my question is, what is the rationale behind not participating in the PPP model under National Health Mission that is gaining a lot of traction right now?
We've discussed this in many calls earlier. PPP is not something new, and we have looked at it on many occasions earlier. There are two factors to PPP. One is that when you do business with governmental PPP models, the CapEx remains the same, but your realization, price realization drops, and secondly, the receivables become sometimes a problem. We have chosen as a company, our business model is that we stay away from PPP. It's just a choice of the company.
Okay. But if we look at the realization front, there are some labs that are operating on pay basis, like they collect from patients itself. So, there is no case of getting reimbursement from government.
No, it's always a mix, and it also depends on the tender. There is no such contract which says only on cash mode, right? So even across geographies, different PPPs, you have a mix of both cash and credit. Okay, but like sir mentioned, so the ARPs drop, and it requires a different like sir said, it's a choice that company we want to focus on B2C. If you have to do business, there are multiple channels, B2B, B2C, and PPP. It was a conscious call that we want to focus on B2C and grow B2C.
Okay. Thank you so much. Thank you.
Yeah. Just to add to that, I would much rather open a center opposite the government hospital and do B2C business rather than doing PPP inside the government hospital.
Sir, sir, why is that? If you can just elaborate a little?
So, like we said, it was more of a choice, right, because of the receivable issues, and also the CapEx remains the same, and the realizations drop. Our strength is scaling up our model in B2C, and the focus of the company and the management is to grow that part of the business.
Okay. Thank you. Thank you, sir.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Siddhant from Tusk Investment. Please go ahead.
Hello. Yeah. Am I audible?
Yeah. Yeah. Siddhant.
Yeah. Good evening, sir. So, my first question is regarding the old center volume growth. What sort of growth are we seeing in the industry in terms of the old centers?
In fact, the old centers, if you see the centers which were opened two years back, right, if you take the entire set, right, so they have grown at a CAGR of, say, 11%, which contributed in terms of revenue; it has contributed almost close to 15% +, right? But in terms of volume, they have grown close to 11. In terms of patient footfall, they have grown about 11%. And also in the test, if you see number of tests, they have grown roughly around 13% in the old centers.
So, that means that if revenue has grown by 15, then we are seeing the volume plus the price mix. So, like 3%, 4% has been the price hike?
Not the price increase. So, if you actually see, because since we've opened a few of the hubs, even in the last two to three years, we have done a lot of hub addition, right? It is basically because of the hub addition, right? And if you also see the mix revenue mix of this quarter, radiology was at around 39%, whereas pathology was 61%. And again, out of radiology, it was predominantly because of the advanced radiology. So, the price effect is only about 1.5%. The rest is because of the test mix that happened during the quarter.
Okay. So, basically, the old center volume growth is anywhere between 11%-12% volume growth.
Test volume is still at 15%, 16% of growth was delivered by that 13%, 13%, 14% of the volume growth, test volume growth.
Okay. This is when we are talking about the old centers only?
Old centers, yeah. Overall, at a company level, 20.4% growth was on account of 17% test growth and 14.4% footfall growth.
Right. So, sir, going forward, how this number should we project? The overall center industry growth, will it be in the similar range, or can we expect this to go up?
So, generally, see, when we guide 15%, right? So, we always said 15% when we guide 15% of revenue growth. I think that will be backed by about 13% of volume growth. So, out of which, 9%-10% of the growth would be coming from the existing centers, and the rest is from the new centers.
New centers. So, that 9%-10% will be the thing going forward also. We are not expecting that to increase?
Yes.
Okay. And sir, we are aggressively entering the West Bengal market, especially in Kolkata and other parts of West Bengal. So, what sort of growth are we seeing in this region versus Telangana and Andhra Pradesh?
Siddhant, firstly, we are not entering. We have fully entered into West Bengal. We have centers in West Bengal which are fully operational, both in South Kolkata as well as in Krishnanagar, Barasat. We are fully there, right?
Yes. Right.
And these centers are doing well. They're ramping up well.
So, still, they are in the ramping up stage. So, if you see in terms of growth, it may look like close to 70%, 80%, whatever percentage, but they're ramping up still in the ramping up phase.
No, I just wanted to understand, we are entering the Eastern market. So, how is the growth overall in the Eastern market versus our home market, which will be Telangana and AP? So, we have entered Eastern India. So, what sort of growth are we targeting or we are already seeing in Eastern India? That's why we have shifted our base, or maybe we are wanting to target this market as well?
No, Siddhant. So, actually, see, here more than percentage, we should see in qualitative terms. If you see the earlier, pre-2021, we had only one center which was Medinova, right? On that base, you are seeing now we started adding multiple centers. So, what we are basically seeing is, at least in the next two to three years, it is like opening of more and more hubs followed up by spokes. And how do we ramp up INR 50 crore -INR 100 crore kind of a revenue in this geography? Is the target more than in percentage terms, in the absolute terms? How do we go to INR 100 crore revenue, surpass that number in the next three years is basically the focus as of now. And for us to open more and more centers, the centers that we have launched are doing well.
Earlier, Medinova did well, and then when we launched VIP Road, it did break even within nine months, and afterwards, also we have seen good traction at the center. And even in the recent centers, it's hardly been just two to three months, and the numbers are encouraging. So, that is the reason why we are looking for more and more centers in this geography.
Okay, sir, and sir, in terms of margin, what will be our margin profile for a new center for zero to one or zero to two years versus a mature center more than three years? What will be the margin profile?
Are you asking about east or specifically about?
Overall, sir. Overall. Even if any general zero to two years of operational of a new center, what will be the margin versus a mature center which is a three-plus store?
We have declared an EBITDA margin, Siddhant. So, I think why would you want us to break that up?
Just to see how in terms of projection, how fast it is getting ramped up. Are we making losses in the first year versus second or third year when we open a new center?
No. But see, again, when we say that we are breaking even on a center in two or three quarters, that basically means that we are not making losses on a new center. So, beyond that.
Okay. There is no guidance. Okay. Yeah.
I cannot give that guidance. It would be wrong for me to give that guidance because it will be sensitive, and it will be information for my competition. I don't want to give that guidance.
Absolutely. Right. Right. Okay, sir. I'll get back into the queue, and thank you so much.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Abdulkader Puranwala from ICICI Securities. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Hi, sir. Thank you for the opportunity. My first question is with regards to PH or Pune as a cluster. So, if I recall it correctly, we had added a couple of centers in last quarter, Q4, and I think the revenues still are growing at a mild 3%, 4% from this particular geography. So, any color as to how the ramp-up has happened at those new hubs and going ahead, how should we look at Pune as a territory for growth?
So, as Mr. Ahmed, I think we have acquired this company, PH, and of course, they were the number one diagnostic brand in Pune when we acquired. But the only small constraint was that all of the centers were running at almost full capacity. So, that is the reason why even in earlier calls, we mentioned that we have to add new centers to kind of increase growth. And that is what we are doing. We are adding new hubs and new spokes in Pune right now. In terms of how to add colors, if you have any suggestions, please give us suggestions. We are happy to listen to you.
Yes. So, first of all, just I mean, I recall that you are adding hubs. So, just wanted to also understand that the two new hubs you added in Q4, any color there as to how the ramp-up has happened?
So, Ahmed, we added only one hub in Q4, and the second hub we just opened in the month of May, and the full-fledged operation just started at the end of May, right? So, the one hub that we opened in Q4, like we mentioned in the previous call also, it took one to two months' time when compared to the other hubs. But now, if you see, there is a traction even in the Pune market, and we have seen an uptick in the revenues from the past one and a half months at Pune. So, we'll be able to give you more updates in the next con call.
Sure. Sir, got it. And, sir, just one more if I may. On the EBITDA margins, so earlier, we had guided that there would be an impact of, say, close to 100 basis points- 200 basis points on margins this year because of new operation. Now that I think the operating drag is not that very significant, is there any revision to the guidance that we had given earlier?
We are not revising the guidance. It will still be 1.5% because there are five more hubs which are going to open, right, in the next two quarters. So, as of now, and even in the Q1, like we said, few of the hubs, it was only one and a half months of operations, right? So, at a year level, still, we want to maintain that guidance of 1.5%, the EBITDA margin around 38%-[audio distortion] at a full year level.
Understood, sir. Thank you, and I'll get back in the queue.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Lokesh Manik from Vallum Capital. Please go ahead.
Yes. Hi. Good evening to the team. So, my question was on the Ind AS impact. If you can please quantify for depreciation, right-of-use assets and for interest leased liabilities for this quarter.
So, the Ind AS impact for this quarter is around 1%, around INR 1.8 crores. Okay. So, out of that, the interest impact would be around 0.92, and depreciation would be 0.95. So, overall, around INR 1.8 crores would be the impact for Q1 FY 2026.
Okay. That's it from my side. Thank you so much.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Surya Narayan Patra from Phillip Capital India Limited Private. Please go ahead.
Thank you. Thank you for the opportunity, sir. Congrats for the great set of numbers. My first question is about, let's say, if I see the revenue per test for the quarter, in the last quarter, it is looking like the best so far. So, what is driving this? Is it some kind of mix change within pathology or radiology? What is driving this, sir? In fact, over the last, if I see some 20-odd quarters, there is a consistent expansion in the revenue per test. And this quarter is looking like the best ever. So, what is helping this number?
Thank you, Mr. Surya. So, actually, it is the, I would say, the strong brand and the trust that we have from our customers. What has been happening is that even in existing older centers, we are seeing strong growth. And even though we are opening newer centers, new hubs and spokes are being opened, the growth in older centers is resulting in, at a consolidated level, the numbers are looking very strong.
Okay. So.
By the way, we have always been very conservative in giving our guidance. So, I would say we are conservative, and we are also very lucky.
Correct, sir. So, also, if I just see the revenue per center also, that has also been very, very consistent. And in the slack season, we are seeing one of the strongest kind of revenue per center number, although we have added new centers which are not fully operational. So, something is really helping, sir. What is that? I'm not able to figure it out.
Firstly, are you comparing us with pure pathology centers?
No, I'm saying.
[audio distortion]
No, no. I'm just revenue per center only. On a broader basis, I'm looking at it. So, I'm seeing one of the strongest numbers this quarter. So, although it was a kind of relatively slack period and new centers have been added, so is that there is a conscious focus or approach that we are adopting to improvise our revenue per patient, and that is how ultimately these center numbers are revenue per center or revenue per patient, those numbers are getting inflated or getting improved?
No.
Or it is the.
Okay. There are two factors. One is, firstly, this is not slack season. Typically, we look at Q3 or maybe part of Q4 as being slack season. So, anyway, that is different. But also, if you look at the mix, radiology has been slightly higher in this quarter, right?
Yeah. That is clearly visible. 39%.
Yes. So what happens when radiology is higher is your average revenue per patient will automatically move up, right, because the test costs are higher. That is what you are seeing.
Yeah. Yeah. So, exactly, sir. I think this is the best number in terms of the radiology contribution for the quarter that we are witnessing. But in terms of the scope and the opportunity for the radiologist's progression in terms of revenue share, if we see what is the maximum potential scope, sir, in terms of the radiologist's revenue share to the overall company's revenue?
Surya, sir, firstly, see, the advantage of the model itself, like we discussed over multiple calls, right, is that we are B2C integrated and creating that dense network in the geographies that we operate. Even if you take the Hyderabad market, which is almost 70% of our revenue, in this market itself, time to time, we have expanded the network, right, and there's not a large gap between player number one and player number two in this market, right? And with the awareness that is getting created over branded healthcare play, which to a certain extent, we have seen in hospitals, right, and also many other things are playing out. If you see the wellness share, last year, Q1, generally, Q4 [crosstalk] .
That is also supposed.
Yeah. Q1 is about close to 13.5% versus 14.2% now. If you take home collection as a channel, earlier, we were at 2.5% of our overall revenue, and we are close to 3.2%- 3.3%. And also, the revenue that we are getting through digital means. There are multiple things that are working well for the company. And the advantage of becoming B2C players with dense network is that you get stronger year on year in the geographies that you operate, right, which will allow you to inch the market share. So that's what I think we were, to a certain extent, we were seeing every year for the last three to four years. If you see, Hyderabad is still playing well for us, right?
As a market, Hyderabad healthcare market is still growing at that double-digit, I think, and Vijaya being the strongest player with the trust that we have from our patients. I think that will allow us to grow in that double-digit, at least in the near future.
Okay. One point about the wellness, sir. See, there is a kind of you are delivering one of the fastest growth compared to anybody in the industry. So far as wellness is concerned, what is really helping you here? It is the kind of enhanced focus towards the packages, the number of packages that you offer, or it is the kind of that having packages covering both radiology and pathology. What is helping you to achieve a faster growth in the wellness compared to the overall market wellness growth trend?
That's a mix of both, Surya. It's basically the focus of the company and also the awareness that's being created in the market and the coverage that we have increased to offer to our corporate customers. So it's a mix of all the three.
Okay. Just last one.
Yeah. Surya, just to be clear, when you look at any of the larger diagnostic players and you look at wellness, in absolute terms, the numbers are not going to be very big. So any incremental change, if you really look at it in absolute terms, is not very big, right?
Correct.
So we are getting more because of probably patient awareness is higher, our digital marketing is doing better. If I add INR 1 corers or INR 2 crores more in a quarter, that will look better in the base.
Okay. It is the base.
Yes. Yes. In percentage terms, you will see a significant number. But don't go too much by the percentage terms. Look at the absolute numbers.
Sure, sir. Just last one point, sir, from my side. Can you just tell me the number of the six center additions during the quarter, which all the area that you have added?
So we have added two in Pune. One, obviously, Ambegaon in the far end of Q4, and the second one was Kalyani Nagar, then two in Kolkata in West Bengal. So one in Barasat, which is Kolkata, and Krishnanagar, a district two hours away from Kolkata. Then we added two in Bangalore, which is Yelahanka towards your Hebbal, and one in HSR.
Okay. [Foreign language] . Sure, sir. Yeah. Thank you. Wish you all the best.
Thank you.
Thank you. A reminder to the participants, if you wish to ask a question, you may press star and one. The next question is from the line of Sumit Gupta from Centrum. Please go ahead.
Hi. Good evening. Am I audible?
Yeah. You're audible, Sumit.
Yes, Sumit.
No, sir. So I have a few questions. First is, from the newly opened hubs, how much incremental volume growth can we expect over the next two to three years?
Sumit, I think our guidance was always consistent from the time of IPO days, right? The guidance would be 15% + of revenue growth backed by volumes, which will be about close to 13%, and 1.5%-2% would be the price change in the price. So we would like to stick to the obvious. The effort that we are putting is to surpass that, but then the guidance, we want to be consistent on our guidance.
That's fine. Just for, I was looking from the newly opened hubs. So how is the traction that you are getting in, let's say, Bangalore and with respect to West Bengal market also? How is the competitive scenario shaping up?
So like we told, Sumit, competition scenario is the same always, right? It is only that every company has their own strength. And in terms of the kind of equipment, quality, people, many other things that we have. And Bangalore, like we discussed earlier, there's a lot of, again, branded healthcare play in terms of hospitals. And when you're seeing integrated diagnostics, you have very limited. You have more number of players with only two to three centers each and operating at different pockets. That is where, and with the strength of radiologists that we have, right, we definitely would leverage that strength. And all these factors are helping us to get that faster traction in these geographies.
Understood. And with respect to wellness, what's the margin that wellness generally makes? I understand it's small with respect to on the quantum side, but on the margin front, how much is it?
We should not. Actually we don't track that separately. See, at a gross margin level, obviously, you will have some impact. But if you see, wellness is that extra business that you do other than your need-based business. Just by adding one footfall to a branch is not going to increase your fixed cost at that branch. It is only the variable cost, which is like 30% of our total cost is variable and 70% of our total cost is fixed in nature. So at EBITDA level, it doesn't matter much. But yes, at a gross margin level, you'll have lower margins on wellness.
All right, so going forward, also, we can expect this 14% kind of contribution to stay at this level, or we can see some increase?
It keeps changing between the quarters, but at a year level, maybe I think.
On a blended basis.
Yeah. Yeah. Blended basis.
[audio distortion]
14%-15%.
Typically, Sumit, in earlier, in fact, it used to be about 11%-12%. So 14% is actually at the higher end of the band.
Okay. Yeah. I was asking because this is around 150 basis points. So going forward, also, can we expect this trend to continue or stabilizing? So you're seeing stabilization around 13%-14%?
Yeah. Yeah. At this range, yes.
Understood. Thank you. All the best.
Thanks. Thanks.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Harshal Patil from Mirae Asset Capital Markets. Please go ahead.
Good evening, sir, and thanks for the opportunity. Sir, just one clarification. You did earlier say that out of the revenue per test increase, about 1%-1.5% would be largely attributable to some price increases. So I presume that this would be ideally done in some select pocket or some select category of tests for this quarter. So would that be a right assumption?
So every year, yeah, we take select tests of select geographies, right? It is not across the test menu. It is across a few tests. Your understanding is right. Yeah.
Yeah, so going ahead, I believe further price hikes or something should be possible or shouldn't be possible? I mean, considering that we've taken for some select tests only, so.
So as of now, see, if you ask me, yes, it is possible. But in this particular financial year, we have no plans of increasing the pricing further. Generally, we do in Q1 of every financial year.
Okay. That's understood. And sir, just a second question. In our core markets, Hyderabad, we've been really going strong in terms of test volumes. And the reason you alluded to rightly was market share gains. I presume this would be more from the unorganized sector. So just extrapolating this and wanting to understand the new centers, which we've been commissioning, they're also kind of gaining some good traction, and we've been reporting some good growth numbers. So apart from the underlying demand, is there also this market share gain theory working around, or no?
Harshal, definitely, right? So because if you see Hyderabad, like we said, we don't have numbers in hand, but definitely, we are gaining some market share because our competitors are not growing at this pace. And in all the other geographies, there are new geographies, right, like Pune, Kolkata, Bangalore, all these are new geographies where we just started growing, right? So definitely, yes, as we progress, at least for the initial years, we'll be gaining some market share every year at these new geographies.
Okay. That helps, sir. Thank you. And all the best.
Yeah. Thanks.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Lokesh Manik from Vallum Capital. Please go ahead.
Yes, sir. Thank you again for the opportunity. My question was on pathology. So for sourcing, what is the model that you employ? Is it CAPEX driven where you purchase the equipment and then the consumables, or it is a rental reagent model that many peers follow in the market? Which model do you follow out here?
It is a reagent rental model.
Mostly, for routine lab testing, it is always on reagent rental. On the more specialized lab testing, we end up buying the equipment.
Okay. And the repair and maintenance cost would be on the OEM, or this would be on our books?
No. If it is reagent rental, it is with the OEM, not on our books. If you purchase it, then it will be on your books.
Great. Great. Thank you so much, sir. That's it from my side.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Gaurav from Antique Stock Broking. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Hi. Good evening. Congratulations, sir. On the gross margin trajectory, we were seeing some softer margins last half H2 of last year. And this year also, given the Forex, etc., we were expecting some input cost pressures and some gross margin decline. But gross margin have actually expanded this quarter. So anything that has changed, we've not taken pricing hike as well. So any structural change? And what should be the gross margin guidance for this year?
Firstly, Gaurav, we are very sorry we disappointed you by giving higher gross margins.
No, sir. You didn't. You didn't. Sorry.
But see, in our business, especially in a B2C model, you have to understand that price changes are not easy to do. So it only happens occasionally when our input costs go up. And if you look at input costs, in the recent times, there have been a few input costs due to which certain tests, certain specific tests, yes, we have increased prices. But across the board, we have not increased prices. So as Siva mentioned earlier, we have got growth basically because of volume and footfall growth.
And if you see the test mix, Gaurav, so 39% is radiology. Whenever radiology revenue goes up, you will see higher gross margins because the material consumption of radiology is much lesser than what you see in pathology.
Also, Gaurav, within radiology also, the advanced radiology component has gone up with the new hubs coming up during this quarter.
And also, if you compare it with Q4, the wellness proportion has reduced a bit. So all these factors have resulted in higher gross margin for the quarter.
So we've always seen the radiology business growing faster than the pathology business. So the gross margin trajectory on an annual basis should keep on improving, right, generally directionally. Since the radiology is growing faster, and that share will keep on growing.
No, no. Not necessarily, Gaurav, because at our scale, the proportion of radiology and pathology will not change significantly. Maybe on a quarterly basis, you might see a 1% or 2% change because we've added some hubs. And next quarter, we may add more spokes. So that 1% or 2% will change. But beyond that, you will not see a big change. And so you're not going to see a big change in the mix between radiology and pathology.
Understood. On a second question that I have, so Q2 is generally the best for a pathology business, and one month has passed into Q2. Any indication you can give us how is the acute season shaping out this quarter?
We have to still wait, Gaurav, because to be very frank, the season, the general Q2 season where you see a lot of fever-related testing, all that, they just started picking up, so initially, we thought this time it was early monsoon, but then actually, the monsoons are slightly delayed in the geographies that we are operating in, at least.
Okay, sir. I'll join back to queue. Thank you so much and all the best.
Don't take that as a negative. Don't take that as a positive.
Positive.
Comment on anything right now.
Sure, sir. Sure. Thank you so much.
Thank you. Participants are requested to press star and one to ask a question. The next question is from the line of Siddhant from Tusk Investment. Please go ahead.
Hello. Yeah. Sir, is there any capacity constraint per center in terms of volume or revenue, beyond which it is not possible to grow?
It actually depends from center to center, Siddhant, because sometimes you see capacity constraint on radiology on a few of the equipment. But again, it depends. We have spokes which are about from 800 sq ft- 3,300 sq ft, 3,500 sq ft. Each center has a different capacity. So definitely, yes, every center, I think, beyond a point, will have capacity constraint, but then difficult to generalize and give you a number.
So right now, largely, Siddhant, we don't have that in our network. To some extent, in Pune, we did have that. We acquired PH. We did have some capacity constraints. But as you know, we are adding new centers in Pune just to address that. So beyond that, there are no capacity constraints currently.
Right. But it will be very difficult to actually quantify it in terms of volume or revenue?
It's because within the spokes, like we told earlier, so within the spokes, we have a spoke generating INR 6 crore revenue a year. So ideal spoke will generate INR 2 crores-INR 2.5 crores. But we do have spokes which are generating about INR 6 corer-INR 6.5 crore per year as well. So it is slightly difficult to quantify that number, Siddhant.
Right. Okay. Thank you so much.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Amey Chalke from JM Financial Institutional. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Thank you so much. So I have one question on management bandwidth. Considering we are now moving aggressively outside AP Telangana in three regions: East India, Bangalore, Karnataka, as well as Maharashtra. So how are we looking to expand our team and what steps we have taken on that?
So in fact, over the last four quarters, we have added a lot of lateral talent, right, which we also have given the disclosures in the previous quarters. In fact, in Pune, recently, we added an AVP Sales and Operations, and also we have strengthened the sales team by taking people from the relevant industry. So from time to time, I think if you see the geographies, both Pune, Kolkata, and Bangalore, we have a team which is already in place. And from time to time, we are adding mid- to senior-level management as and when required.
So are we going to have regional heads or currently, it has been operating out of Hyderabad then?
So we have regional heads reporting into Hyderabad corporate. The policies, everything, the way we operate, everything is similar across geographies. But all the three geographies, Pune, Kolkata, and Bangalore, we have regional heads.
Sure. And the second question I have, even though inorganic expansion, I understand we are organically expanding very well, but we also have a good amount of cash. So what's our plan over there? Are we going to look to expand in the core regions, or it would be largely outside the core region?
So I mean, if JM can give us a good acquisition opportunity, we are very happy to acquire.
So we are on the look for acquisitions. As and when we get a right opportunity, that's a continuous process, right? So as long as that falls, when we have all the boxes ticked in terms of valuation, quality of the asset, other integration aspects, we'll be happy to do that.
Sure. Sure. Thank you so much. I will join back to you. Thank you.
Thank you. As there are no further questions, I now hand over the conference to management for closing comments.
I would like to thank everyone for attending this call. Should you need any further clarification or any other information about the company, please feel free to reach out to us. Thank you so much.
Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you. On behalf of JM Financial Institutional Securities Limited, that concludes this conference. Thank you for joining us, and you may now disconnect your line.