Dear Shareholders,
Since the novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) broke
out in 2020, mutant strains have continued to emerge,
and it is unclear when the pandemic will abate. Covid-19
tested us yet again in 2021, and we once again rose to
the challenge. We met the pandemic head-on with our
evolved strategies. Amid this ongoing crisis, many people
are doing their utmost to protect and maintain the essential
health services and systems. I offer my heartfelt thanks to
everyone working on the front lines of this pandemic.
The Indian Diagnostics sector has been one of the
fastest-growing service segments in the Indian
healthcare space. With India witnessing three waves of
the Covid-19 pandemic and the fact that people with
existing comorbidities were at a higher risk of dying from
the pandemic, there was a phenomenal rise in demand
for diagnostic testing. Emerging self-care trends have
been driving a large number of people to go for preventive
checks on a periodical basis. This phenomenon is likely to
continue over a longer period of time as people become
more cautious and increasingly receptive to the need to
have regular health examinations. With this change in
consumer behaviour, the ease of getting diagnostic tests
done from home has also improved significantly with
trained technicians coming for home sample collections,
with better coverage and turnaround time.
The rigors of the pandemic environment have helped
highlight all the strengths that make us such an enduringly
successful company. The continual shifts and disruptions
to normal business patterns — supply chain functioning,
fluctuating demand, workplace operations — require
companies to be resourceful and adaptable, with the ability
to anticipate, improvise, and draw on deep reserves of
experience, relationships, and know-how. Our over four
-decade-long heritage and experience with the right blend
of values have underpinned our efforts in tackling these
issues.
Financial Performance
FY 2021-22 was an exceptional year with Covid-19 income
contributing 16% of the top line. Our non-Covid-19 business
grew at a robust 35% year-on-year in FY 2021-22. Despite
the turbulent environment, I am very pleased to share that
our Company recorded our highest-ever revenue, EBITDA
and PAT during FY 2021-22. Revenue increased by 23%
year-on-year to ₹ 1,228 Crores, EBITDA before CSR and
ESOP increased by 20% year-on-year to ₹ 362 Crores and
PAT increased by 17% year-on-year to ₹ 215 Crores.
FY 2O21-22 has truly been a transformational year for
the industry. I am glad to share that we progressed as per
our strategic goals during the year to make Metropolis
a stronger, more agile, and higher value-creating
organization.
Our digitalizing strategies are centered
around using convenient devices
and bettering services for efficient
management. This eventually results
in cost optimization, patient footfall
management, and timely diagnosis
without compromising quality.
Digital Presence and Engagement
We have improved brand and service discover across all
our digital platforms, like Google search, social media to
reach maximum customers. We have been offering an
omni-channel experience to all our customers across all
digital touch points like Website, App, Chatbot, WhatsApp
and IVR. We have upgraded and launched our Mobile
Patient App by adding new features like quick home visit
booking, track phlebotomist, rating of phlebotomists, test
recommendations and so on. We have built various robust
digital platforms to engage with our stakeholders such
as B2B partners, aggregators and doctor partners. On the
business impact front in FY 2021-22, we have witnessed
173% increase in digital users year-on-year, faster growth
in home visit revenue, 151% increase in website views yearon-year and 61% increase in digital driven revenue.
Key achievements
- Built a stronger senior and middle management team to
capitalize on the market’s growth opportunities with a
clear and more focused approach
- Established and strengthened the distribution network
of Patient Collection Centers across the country and
extended Home Visit Coverage to 100+ locations
- Visualized and started the process of building a new
API-led tech architecture for future readiness to enable
us to seamlessly work with industry’s all players,
including the Government and insurance companies
- Engaged with healthcare startups and health
aggregators to cater to the new market of budget
wellness, reaching out to customers through digital
platforms
- Strengthened our services and quality and created new
ways of engaging with doctors and customers through
initiatives such as: Rolling out ‘MetroBot’ to engage with
the medical community via online and offline mediums;
and launching a ‘Partner Platform’ for our B2B partners
and franchisors to get ready access to services from
Metropolis
Our M&A strategy revolves around
acquiring high-quality, profitable B2C
businesses with a scientific approach
to diagnostics. We will continue to
evaluate such high-quality profitable
and scalable opportunities and take a
pragmatic view on M&A.
I am delighted to share that our acquisition of Hitech
Diagnostic Center is one of the key milestones in the last
financial year. As per our growth strategy, this acquisition
will enable Metropolis to gain market share, strengthen
our leadership position in the Southern India market and
increase our share in B2C business. Currently, in Chennai,
we have 400-500 tests and plan to add another 100-200
tests to the list. We anticipate that this acquisition will
enable Metropolis to cater to the market’s mid-segment
while leveraging scale benefits.
Acquisition Synergies
-
Strengthening the Leadership Position:
Through Hitech Diagnostics’ acquisition, we will
strengthen our position as the 2nd largest diagnostics
company in India and the largest brand in Southern and
Western India
-
Increased B2C Contribution in Focus Cities:
Hitech Diagnostics – a focused B2C player with 65%
revenue contribution from B2C business – will enable
Metropolis to increase our B2C business in focus cities
of Chennai and Bengaluru. Thereby, enhancing our
direct-to-customer business
-
Deeper Penetration in Mid-segment of the Market:
Metropolis is focused on the market’s premium end. We
also anticipate accessing the market’s mid-segment,
primarily catered to by Hitech. Thus, expanding our
addressable market size
-
Enhance Profitability through Revenue and Cost Synergies:
We expect to enhance our revenue through the product
offerings of our combined businesses, improve
customer experience and achieve cost synergies.
We anticipate achieving this through optimization of
operational costs in procurement, better efficiencies
in supply chain, administration and support resource,
laboratory network and back-office infrastructure
Our Way Forward
-
Focus on Network Expansion:
As part of our ongoing 90:30 expansion plan outlined in
the last year FY 2O20-21, we will target 100-200 Indian
cities and laboratories in at least 70-80 Indian cities
and collection centers in 225 cities. Thereby, catering to
people through different patient service networks
-
Continued Strengthening of Acute Illness Business:
Over the years, Metropolis’s major focus has always
been on the 6% of acute illness patients, the ones that
doctors highly recommend. We enjoy a significant
brand equity among the healthcare community and are
renowned for delivering quality, accurate and reliable
reports. Our goal for FY 2O22-23 is to further strengthen
the acute illness business segment by penetrating in
tier 2 and tier 3 cities
-
Creating a Category for Chronic and Wellness Testing for Growth:
The industry has undergone several structural changes
and consumers’ behavioural changes towards health to
a significant extent. With people growing more health
conscious, our goal is to focus on the 100% of the
population, including chronic and wellness patients.
We aim to target our country’s population by offering
wellness packages at good price points, and loyalty
programs, among others. Digitization and automation,
home testing services and stakeholder engagement will
further complement our efforts in building this growth
segment
-
Strengthening Scientific Reputation & Medical Engagement:
At Metropolis, we will continuously engage with
clinicians and Healthcare industry associations through
different networking platforms. With the support of
automation and digitization, we facilitate smart reports
to clinicians for better and effective clinical decisionmaking. In addition to this, we will continue to host a
series of CMEs, webinars, and round table meetings to
share and exchange information and latest trends on
diagnosis and testing
I would like to conclude by expressing my gratitude to our
valued customers and shareholders for their loyalty and
continued support and to the Metropolis team for their
consistent hard work and dedication during the year. Finally,
I would like to use this opportunity to thank all the members
of the Board of Directors for their invaluable leadership and
deep insights through their wide-ranging experiences
Sincerely,
Ameera Shah
Managing Director
