Vijaya says existing Hyderabad centres drove 20% growth

Vijaya Diagnostic Centre Limited said Hyderabad’s about 20% growth in the quarter was driven primarily by higher throughput at existing centres, while its network increased by six centres to 100 over two years. Management identified mid-teen volume growth as the largest disclosed component, with test mix and a tariff revision also contributing.

What drove Vijaya’s Hyderabad growth?

Vijaya said higher activity at its existing Hyderabad centres was the main reason for the cluster’s roughly 20% growth. During the November 4, 2026 call, management agreed with an analyst’s inference that existing centres, rather than network additions, were driving growth. Hyderabad had 94 centres two years earlier and 100 at the time of the call.

Management described three contributors to the quarter’s growth: volume growth in the mid-teens, roughly 2% to 3% from changes in test mix, and the balance from a tariff revision. The disclosed breakdown indicates that higher patient and test volumes were the largest identified driver, while a greater share of certain tests and the tariff change supplemented revenue growth.

The increase of six centres over two years contrasts with the roughly 20% cluster growth cited in the call. Management said it had not added a major Hyderabad hub after Panjagutta, added three years earlier, until Gachibowli this year. Most network additions were spokes, which provide pathology and basic radiology around larger hub centres.

Why are existing Hyderabad centres handling more business?

Vijaya said requests for advanced radiology and pathology procedures are increasing and are supporting throughput at established centres. Management cited protocols, cardiac angio tests and other advanced radiology procedures, along with genomics and other high-end pathology offerings. These services are differentiated from the basic testing more commonly available at smaller diagnostic centres.

Management said high-end pathology is generally offered by larger established providers rather than smaller centres. It also said it had not seen a new player open a centre in Hyderabad. That was management’s observation during the call, rather than a market-wide count of local competitors or closures among independent diagnostic operators.

The roughly 2% to 3% contribution from test-mix changes indicates that advanced procedures added to the quarter’s growth but did not account for all of it. Mid-teen volume growth was the larger disclosed component. Management therefore linked the Hyderabad result both to more testing activity and to demand for services that existing centres can provide.

How much has Vijaya expanded Hyderabad recently?

Vijaya had commissioned one hub and four spokes in Hyderabad through the first half, or H1, and expects to commission at least three to four more spokes during the year. Management nevertheless said these additions do not change its conclusion that the current roughly 20% Hyderabad growth is primarily being generated by the existing network.

Management identified Gachibowli as the Hyderabad hub opened in the first quarter, or Q1. Separately, it said the only centre opened in the current quarter was the JP Nagar flagship facility in Bengaluru, and that recent openings had not caused much drag on earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation, or EBITDA. It also said 10 hubs opened in the preceding year had ramped as expected or faster without significant margin drag.

Hyderabad’s network of 100 centres contains both hubs and spokes, a distinction management made when explaining local growth. Hubs have a higher radiology revenue component, while spokes combine pathology with basic radiology. With limited major-hub additions after Panjagutta until Gachibowli, management’s comments point to existing capacity and demand at established locations as central to the reported throughput increase.

Can Hyderabad remain a double-digit growth market?

Management said Vijaya expects Hyderabad to continue delivering double-digit growth. It said the cluster had maintained that rate for the last three to four years, despite previous concerns that it had reached a mature stage. Management recalled similar questions in 2021, when Hyderabad had around 60 to 65 centres, compared with 100 at the November 2026 call.

Vijaya plans to open its third Hyderabad flagship centre in the next six to eight months after signing a lease for the location. Management said it had searched for the western Hyderabad site for about one year because spoke centres there were delivering exceptional growth. It is still evaluating the high-end equipment for the facility, including a possible Omega 3T magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, system.

The planned flagship is a future capacity addition rather than an explanation for the current quarter’s performance. Management said its rationale is the growth already being recorded at western Hyderabad spokes. It did not provide a revenue target, expected patient capacity or a more specific opening date than the stated six-to-eight-month window.

What does the Hyderabad model mean for other clusters?

Vijaya said its broader strategy is to build dense local networks instead of pursuing rapid expansion across India. Management named Bengal and Karnataka as markets where it plans to add hubs followed by spokes, and described Bengal and the Northeast as adjacent areas. The stated aim is to create the operational leverage and efficiency associated with a denser hub-and-spoke network.

Management cautioned that investors should not treat 10 hubs a year as a fixed expansion rate. It said Vijaya added 10 hubs last year and is adding eight this year, amounting to about 18 hubs across two financial years. The company said it would provide expansion guidance for the next two to three quarters at each reporting point rather than commit to a permanent annual target.

Management said newly started hubs are reaching break-even within its planned timelines and that new-centre margins were not a constraint in the expansion plan. It expects to add two or three hubs annually in each geography, with at least four to five hubs across geographies in a typical year, while also adding spokes around stabilised hubs. The comparison with Hyderabad is a management objective, not a commitment that every newer cluster will match its growth profile.

Conclusion

Vijaya’s Hyderabad result was, by management’s account, mainly a same-network growth story: centres increased from 94 to 100 over two years, while the cluster grew by about 20% in the quarter. Mid-teen volume growth was the largest disclosed component, with a roughly 2% to 3% test-mix benefit and a tariff revision accounting for the remainder.

The next developments to watch are the planned third Hyderabad flagship within six to eight months, at least three to four additional Hyderabad spokes during the year, and management’s equipment decision for the flagship. Vijaya also plans to extend its hub-and-spoke densification strategy in Bengal and Karnataka, while retaining flexibility rather than setting a fixed annual hub-addition target.