Narayana Hrudayalaya investing outflow rises to Rs 1,019.83 crore

Narayana Hrudayalaya Limited reported net cash used in investing activities of Rs 1,019.83 crore for the six months ended 30 September 2026, compared with Rs 523.94 crore a year earlier. The increase reflected Rs 622.84 crore of net deployment into short-term investments and Rs 379.21 crore spent on capital assets, while operating cash inflow was Rs 972.82 crore.

Why did Narayana Hrudayalaya's investing outflow rise?

Narayana Hrudayalaya's investing cash outflow rose because spending on short-term investments, capital assets and bank deposits exceeded proceeds from investment sales, deposit maturities and other investing inflows. Net cash used in investing activities was Rs 1,019.83 crore in the six months ended 30 September 2026, an increase of Rs 495.89 crore from Rs 523.94 crore in the corresponding six months of 2025.

The largest movement was in short-term investments. Narayana Hrudayalaya spent Rs 2,641.84 crore buying short-term investments in the 2026 half-year and received Rs 2,019.00 crore from their sale, leaving net cash use of Rs 622.84 crore. In the prior-year period, purchases were Rs 783.27 crore and sale proceeds were Rs 465.73 crore, producing net use of Rs 317.54 crore. Net deployment in this category therefore increased by Rs 305.30 crore.

How much did Narayana Hrudayalaya spend on capital assets?

Narayana Hrudayalaya spent Rs 379.21 crore on acquisition of property, plant and equipment in the six months ended 30 September 2026, including capital work-in-progress, intangible assets, intangible assets under development, capital advances and capital creditors. This was Rs 102.65 crore higher than the Rs 276.56 crore recorded in the six months ended 30 September 2025. Sale proceeds from property, plant and equipment were Rs 3.65 crore, compared with Rs 29.20 lakh a year earlier.

The balance sheet recorded property, plant and equipment of Rs 464.05 crore at 30 September 2026, up from Rs 452.67 crore at 31 March 2026. Capital work-in-progress increased to Rs 32.80 crore from Rs 26.68 crore, and right-to-use assets rose to Rs 95.96 crore from Rs 84.56 crore. Intangible assets declined to Rs 100.89 crore from Rs 103.30 crore over the same period.

Narayana Hrudayalaya also used Rs 26.66 crore for investment in acquisition of subsidiaries and others during the 2026 half-year, versus Rs 14.64 crore in the earlier period. Investment in other non-current investments was Rs 16.87 crore, against Rs 12.11 crore. The cash-flow statement separately reported Rs 9.54 crore of proceeds from redemption of optionally convertible debentures in the six months ended 30 September 2026.

Did operating cash flow cover Narayana Hrudayalaya's investment deployment?

Narayana Hrudayalaya generated Rs 972.82 crore of net operating cash in the six months ended 30 September 2026, which was Rs 47.01 crore below its Rs 1,019.83 crore investing outflow. Net cash generated from operating activities increased by Rs 282.66 crore from Rs 690.16 crore in the prior-year period. Cash generated from operations before income taxes was Rs 1,055.28 crore, compared with Rs 769.57 crore a year earlier.

Profit after tax from continuing operations was Rs 508.42 crore for the 2026 half-year, up from Rs 454.34 crore in the comparable period. Depreciation and amortisation rose to Rs 319.03 crore from Rs 172.61 crore, while finance costs increased to Rs 183.52 crore from Rs 87.42 crore. These items were included in the reconciliation from profit to operating cash flow.

Working-capital movements included Rs 326.89 crore of cash use from changes in trade receivables, compared with Rs 54.47 crore in the prior-year period. Changes in trade payables, other financial liabilities and other liabilities generated Rs 149.49 crore, versus Rs 60.04 crore. After Rs 82.46 crore of net income-tax payments, Narayana Hrudayalaya reported the Rs 972.82 crore operating cash inflow.

What happened to Narayana Hrudayalaya's cash balance?

Narayana Hrudayalaya's cash and cash equivalents in the consolidated cash-flow statement fell by Rs 26.78 crore during the six months ended 30 September 2026, closing at Rs 48.79 crore. The prior-year period recorded a smaller decline of Rs 4.26 crore and ended with Rs 40.51 crore. The 2026 movement combined the Rs 1,019.83 crore investing outflow and Rs 220.75 crore financing outflow with the Rs 972.82 crore operating inflow.

Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the 2026 half-year were Rs 76.06 crore. The cash-flow statement also reported a Rs 48.87 lakh adverse effect from restating foreign-currency cash and cash equivalents, compared with a Rs 5.08 lakh favourable effect in the corresponding 2025 period. The closing cash-flow balance was therefore Rs 8.28 crore above the balance at 30 September 2025.

The balance sheet showed Rs 49.71 crore of cash and cash equivalents at 30 September 2026, comprising Rs 53.05 lakh of cash on hand, Rs 45.75 crore in current accounts and Rs 3.43 crore in deposits maturing within three months of acquisition. The cash-flow balance was lower because it deducted a Rs 91.81 lakh bank overdraft used for cash-management purposes. Separate bank balances other than cash equivalents were Rs 144.27 crore, while current investments stood at Rs 104.51 crore.

How did financing flows affect Narayana Hrudayalaya's cash position?

Narayana Hrudayalaya used Rs 220.75 crore in financing activities in the six months ended 30 September 2026, compared with Rs 208.83 crore in the same period of 2025. It received Rs 14.11 crore from long-term borrowings and repaid Rs 8.38 crore. Dividend payments were Rs 9.13 crore, broadly in line with Rs 9.14 crore a year earlier.

Interest and other borrowing-cost payments were Rs 8.97 crore, compared with Rs 4.08 crore in the prior-year half-year. Lease-liability payments were Rs 9.70 crore, versus Rs 3.01 crore. The reconciliation of financing liabilities showed borrowings and lease liabilities totalling Rs 606.61 crore at 30 September 2026, compared with Rs 584.50 crore at April 2026.

Conclusion

Narayana Hrudayalaya's first-half cash flows show that operating cash generation rose to Rs 972.82 crore, but investing deployment rose faster to Rs 1,019.83 crore. The largest year-on-year change was the Rs 305.30 crore increase in net cash deployed in short-term investments, accompanied by a Rs 102.65 crore increase in capital-asset acquisitions.

The next disclosed matters to watch are the final National Company Law Tribunal order for the merger of Meridian Medical Research & Hospital Limited and the regulatory no-objection process and final order for the demerger involving NH Integrated Care Private Limited. Narayana Hrudayalaya said the merger had received no-objection letters from regulatory authorities, while the demerger remained in the process of obtaining them, and neither had affected the six-month results.