Dr. Agarwal’s Q1 FY27: A record expansion quarter, with margins holding up

Dr. Agarwal’s Health Care Limited opened FY27 with a quarter that combined scale, growth, and aggressive execution. For Q1 FY27, revenue from operations rose to INR 614 crore, a 26.0% year-on-year increase. Ind AS EBITDA came in at INR 177 crore, up 25.2% year on year, while profit after tax rose 44.6% to INR 55 crore. The company also reported an improvement in profitability, with PAT margin expanding to 8.9%.

The quarter’s operating theme was clear: keep expanding the surgical network while pushing a mix shift toward higher-end procedures. Management highlighted that the quarter included record greenfield additions and that profitability improved despite the drag from newer centers.

Growth came with a record facility ramp-up

As of June 30, 2026, the company’s network expanded to 304 eye care facilities. Q1 FY27 alone added 18 greenfield facilities, including 16 surgical facilities, which management described as the highest ever quarterly addition of surgical sites.

Operational scale also showed up in volumes. The company served over 8.82 lakh patients and performed 91,082 surgeries in Q1 FY27, a 15.5% year-on-year increase. Cataract surgeries remained the dominant procedure category, with 67,444 cataract surgeries performed during the quarter.

A key datapoint for investors was the same-store performance. Facilities operational up to FY23 contributed INR 465 crore of revenue from operations in Q1 FY27 and delivered 16.3% year-on-year growth, accounting for 75.9% of overall group revenues as presented in the SSSG vintage slide.

Financial summary (Q1 FY27 vs Q1 FY26)

Revenue mix remained surgery-led, with steady ancillary contributions

The business continues to be led by surgical services. In Q1 FY27, surgeries accounted for 65.9% of revenue from operations. The remaining mix was diversified across opticals and accessories, diagnostic and consultation services, and eye care related pharma products.

The investor presentation also shows that the mix was broadly stable compared to Q1 FY26, with only modest shifts.

In the concall, the CFO also framed the quarter’s revenue drivers in terms of volume, value, and new centers. India revenue from operations for Q1 FY27 was stated at INR 552 crore, up 25.3% year on year.

On the question of why revenue growth outpaced surgery volume growth, management quantified the value contribution on a like-to-like basis. The COO stated that premiumization contributed around 7.5% and price hikes contributed around 0.5%, implying about 8% value contribution.

Clinical complexity and innovation remained central to the story

The company used the quarter to underline its positioning in complex ophthalmic procedures and its focus on technology-enabled outcomes.

In Q1 FY27, the presentation highlighted growth in specialized procedures such as femtosecond cataracts (1,548), lenticular procedures like SMILE (1,712), and retinal surgeries (3,861). These categories reported year-on-year growth rates of 33.4%, 36.2%, and 30.0% respectively.

A notable clinical narrative was Pinhole Pupilloplasty (PPP), developed by the company’s Chairman, Dr. Amar Agarwal. The deck positioned PPP as an alternative for certain corneal injury cases where donor cornea availability and outcome variability can be structural constraints. The company reported around 500 cases in FY26 and stated that 94.0% of PPP surgeries saw vision improvement.

Regional mix: South remains core, North is the fastest growing

India continues to be the primary market, contributing 89.9% of revenue from operations, with international operations contributing 10.1%. The company is present across 14 states and 5 union territories in India and across nine African countries.

Within India, South remained the anchor region in Q1 FY27, contributing INR 387 crore of revenue (63.1% contribution) with 22.8% year-on-year growth. West delivered INR 91 crore (14.8% contribution), while North delivered INR 57 crore and grew 50.4% year on year.

Management commentary placed a spotlight on North, especially Delhi NCR, where the company now operates eight facilities and expects to continue adding more through the year. However, management also cautioned that Delhi remains early in its ramp-up and is not yet comparable to mature southern centers.

Margin movement: improvement despite greenfield drag

The consolidated P&L shows gross margin improving from 78.1% in Q1 FY26 to 79.0% in Q1 FY27. Ind AS EBITDA margin improved by 30 bps to 28.5%, while PAT margin expanded by 127 bps to 8.9%.

Management acknowledged that greenfield expansion has a cost in the early quarters. In response to a question, the COO stated that greenfield losses were around INR 20 crore at corporate EBITDA level, including both FY26 and FY27 centers and pre-operating losses.

Finance costs also softened. In a concall clarification, the CFO stated finance cost declined from about INR 24.7 crore in Q1 last year to about INR 23.5 crore in Q1 FY27. Management attributed part of the improvement to lower interest on deferred acquisition payable, which they said reduced from about INR 6.8 crore last year to about INR 3.6 crore this quarter following payment of about INR 25 crore.

Balance sheet: net cash position, but cash reduced QoQ

The net debt table showed the company remaining in a net cash position, with net debt (cash) at minus INR 62 crore in Q1 FY27. This compares with minus INR 124 crore in Q4 FY26 and minus INR 278 crore in Q1 FY26.

Gross debt was INR 152 crore in Q1 FY27, while cash and cash equivalents plus investments totalled INR 214 crore.

What management guided for FY27

The forward-looking statement that mattered most was the expansion plan. Management reiterated that the company entered FY27 with a plan to add 60 facilities, including 40 surgical centers. Q1 delivered 18 facilities (16 surgical). Management stated it expects to add 12 facilities in Q2 and 30 in the second half of FY27, supported by a pipeline of 30-plus signed LOIs.

Separately, management stated that a merger process is expected to close around mid-November.

Takeaways from Q1 FY27

Q1 FY27 was a quarter where Dr. Agarwal’s demonstrated that it can push expansion speed without giving up on profitability. Revenue and PAT grew strongly, while margins improved modestly. Same-store growth for older centers remained healthy, which is important when a company is opening a large number of new facilities.

The near-term investor question is execution. If the company delivers its stated FY27 facility plan and the newly opened surgical centers ramp up as expected, growth can remain strong. The main variable to watch is the size and duration of greenfield losses as the expansion program continues.