Metropolis Healthcare Ltd

Scaling with Strength and Purpose

AT EVERY STEP OF OUR JOURNEY, OUR GOAL REMAINED CLEAR: TO DELIVER ACCURATE, EMPATHETIC, AND IMPACTFUL DIAGNOSTICS THAT ENABLE BETTER HEALTH OUTCOMES AND CREATE GREAT VALUE FOR SHAREHOLDERS WHILST DOING IT.

DEAR SHAREHOLDERS,

As I reflect on FY 2024-25, it is clear that this has been a year of purposeful transformation for Metropolis Healthcare. In a rapidly evolving healthcare landscape, we chose not merely to respond to change, but to actively shape it. This year, we strengthened our core, expanded our reach through strategic moves, and infused new energy into our operations and culture. These actions were not just tactical; they were deeply aligned with our long-term vision of redefining diagnostics in India and beyond.

Our journey over the last year has been guided by a conscious effort to evolve into a more agile, digitally empowered organization. We enhanced our capabilities and national footprint, while maintaining our unwavering focus on scientific excellence, customer centricity, and operational discipline. At every step of our journey, our goal remained clear: to deliver accurate, empathetic, and impactful diagnostics that enable better health outcomes and create great value for shareholders whilst doing it.

This year also marked a significant milestone in our leadership journey. Our Founder and Chairman, Dr. Sushil Shah, transitioned to the role of Chairman Emeritus. His vision—that diagnostics should bridge anxiety and assurance—continues to serve as our guiding principle. Dr. Shah's legacy of scientific rigor and ethical leadership is deeply embedded in the culture of Metropolis. He remains an integral part of our Board, offering his valuable insights and direction as we chart the next phase of our growth.

In line with this transition, the Board entrusted me with the role of Executive Chairperson during the early part of the financial year, in addition to my existing responsibilities. Over the past two decades, I have had the privilege of leading Metropolis through multiple phases of evolution, from a single-lab entity to a publicly listed institution, now the second-largest diagnostics player in India with national presence and global quality benchmarks. This leadership transition reaffirms our commitment to continuity in governance and long-term strategic stewardship.

India's healthcare sector continues to evolve rapidly and is now valued at over USD 370 billion*. Within this expanding ecosystem, diagnostics has emerged as a critical pillar—enabling early detection, accurate clinical decisions, and improved patient outcomes. The post-pandemic years saw a sharp influx of new entrants, particularly in wellness and home-testing, many of whom adopted price-led strategies. However, the market is now transitioning toward greater consolidation and maturity—placing increased value on quality, trust, and scientific integrity. With rising awareness, chronic disease prevalence, and demand for speed and precision, the diagnostics sector is poised to grow at 8–10% CAGR through FY28.

Metropolis has navigated this changing landscape with clarity and conviction.

Over the last four years, we have undergone a significant transformation, anchored in strategic investments, bold execution, and a clear intent to build a resilient, future-ready organization.

We expanded our lab footprint by nearly 90 labs and scaled our network of owned Patient Service Centers from ~251 (FY22) to over 530, while modernizing front-end platforms and automating back-end lab processes. These foundational changes have materially strengthened our B2C capabilities and positioned us for sustained value creation.

As part of this transformation, we also made a conscious decision to defocus from the Institutional business (including some that were profitable). This strategic pivot allowed us to reallocate capital and resources toward building scalable, consumer-facing capabilities—across technology, talent, and geographic reach. While this investment-led scale-up phase led to a temporary increase in costs, it has created a stronger operating base for future growth.

We are also witnessing a broader shift within the industry—from unorganised to organised players—which has expanded the formal market but distributed revenue among more players. Competition has moderated, with fewer instances of irrational pricing and aggressive new entrants. Many competitors are increasingly focused on wellness and the tail end of the illness spectrum. At Metropolis, we remain committed on the head of the illness business—critical diagnostics that demand trust, quality, and scientific depth.

FY 2024–25 was a year of consistent and well-balanced growth for Metropolis. Revenues grew 12% year-on-year to 1,331 crore, with B2C growing by 17% and B2B by 12% on a Y-o-Y basis. The overall growth was moderated to 12% due to a decline in the Institutional Business, which we are actively de-focusing; otherwise, it would have stood at 14%. Adjusted EBITDA increased by 14% to 325 crore (on an adjusted basis excluding one-time acquisition-related costs incurred in the fourth quarter), while profit after tax rose 26% to 161 crore.

The TruHealth wellness portfolio recorded robust growth of 24%, and the Specialty diagnostics segment expanded by 13%—together serving as key engines of differentiated growth. We also achieved steady volume expansion, processing over 26.4 million tests across 12.7 million patient visits, along with a 6% improvement in revenue per patient. These outcomes reaffirm the strength of our strategy, our alignment with emerging healthcare priorities, and our ability to scale profitably in a dynamic market—while continuing to earn the trust of patients and clinicians across the country.

At Metropolis, acquisitions have always been a strategic lever, not just for expanding scale, but for deepening scientific expertise, enhancing regional strength, and delivering consistent quality to patients. A defining milestone came nearly four years ago with the acquisition of Chennai-based Hitech Diagnostics, our first large-scale regional buyout that fortified our position as a B2C leader in South India and demonstrated our ability to integrate effectively while preserving local strengths.

During the year, we completed the acquisition of Core Diagnostics, a leading Delhi-NCR-based pan India player specializing in oncology and genomics. In the first quarter of FY 2025-26, we further expanded with the acquisitions of Scientific Pathology in Agra and Dr. Ahuja's Pathology & Imaging Centre in Dehradun—both established B2C brands with deep-rooted equity in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, respectively.

Together, these additions have significantly strengthened our presence in North India, with the region's contribution to overall revenues rising from 8% to nearly 14–15%.

WE HAVE CREATED A MORE UNIFIED, PRECISION-DRIVEN DIAGNOSTIC ECOSYSTEM—ONE THAT DELIVERS MEASURABLE OUTCOMES ACROSS PATIENT AND CLINICIAN TOUCHPOINTS.

One of the most fulfilling aspects of this year has been the visible convergence of science, quality, and technology. By aligning our scientific and quality functions, we have created a more unified, precision-driven diagnostic ecosystem—one that delivers measurable outcomes across patient and clinician touchpoints. I want to sincerely appreciate our scientific and technical teams for their relentless commitment to clinical excellence. Their efforts have brought forth next-generation diagnostic offerings, from molecular and NGS-based panels to AI-supported reporting tools. The addition of Core Diagnostics has given further momentum to our genomics and oncology capabilities, positioning us at the forefront of precision medicine in India.

On the technology front, we have embedded intelligent automation, ERP-CRM integrations, and AIled workflow optimization across lab and service functions. These initiatives support not just scale, but responsiveness, traceability, and personalization. As we prepare for the next frontier, I am confident that this synergy of science, digital intelligence, and quality systems will help us continue delivering industry-defining diagnostic care—accessible, accurate, and ahead of the curve.

People and culture remain at the heart of everything we do. Our teams are the architects of our patient-first promise. Whether it is elevating quality benchmarks through our proprietary Quality Index or maintaining consistently high Net Promoter Scores, our workforce continues to raise the bar for diagnostics in India.

We also recognize that investing in talent means building for the future. While we continue to empower our employees through structured learning and development programs, we are equally focused on expanding industry capabilities. The Metropolis Institute of Laboratory Education and Skilling (MiLES) has emerged as a key initiative in this direction—training the next generation of healthcare professionals with advanced competencies and aligned with India's national skilling mission. Through MiLES, we are not only investing in the professionals of tomorrow but also reinforcing Metropolis' role as a knowledge-led leader in diagnostics.

Our social responsibility goes far beyond diagnostics. Through the Metropolis Foundation, our CSR arm, we continue to make a meaningful impact in public health and community well-being. Our MedEngage platform has scaled significantly this year, awarding 365 scholarships—63% to women, 49% to students from aspirational districts, and 43% as research grants, marking a 50% increase over the previous year.

Among key initiative, the Adolescent Reproductive and Sexual Health (ARSH) program has now reached over 2.2 lakh adolescents across Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. Supported by our ‘Too Shy to Ask' app, we are enabling young individuals to make informed health decisions. Additionally, we conducted over 300 screening and awareness sessions focusing on tuberculosis, anaemia, and diabetes—extending preventive healthcare to underserved populations. These programs reflect our belief that healthcare must be proactive, inclusive, and accessible to all.

As we transition into the next phase of our journey, our strategic priorities are clearly defined. With core infrastructure in place, the emphasis now shifts from expansion to disciplined execution, tighter cost control, and automation-led productivity—enabling us to drive sustainable profitability across the network.

Over the next three years, we will recalibrate our approach to growth. Asset-heavy investments in labs and technology will be paused, allowing us to consolidate recent expansions and extract full value from our existing infrastructure. Capital expenditure will be more calibrated, with internal accruals directed toward high-quality, financially accretive acquisitions and strengthening in-house capabilities.

Our ambition is to evolve into a fully tech-enabled, leaner organization—focused on the most critical and high-value segments of the illness business.

At the same time, we will continue to broaden our ancillary services to keep the patient at the center of our ecosystem—enhancing value through increased revenue per test (RPT) and integrated experiences.

FY26 will be a year of strategic consolidation. We will focus on standardizing operations and harmonizing clinical practices across acquired entities to ensure consistency, quality, and compliance. From FY27 onward, we aim to enter a new phase of growth—anchored in operational maturity, stronger governance, and focused execution for both top-line and bottom-line expansion.

As we pursue our ambitions, we remain firmly anchored in strong governance. Toward the end of the last quarter, we welcomed two distinguished Independent Directors—Mr. Rehan Khan and Ms. Purvi Sheth—who bring deep expertise in healthcare strategy and people leadership, respectively. Their perspectives will further strengthen our Board as we navigate the next phase of growth with enhanced agility and foresight.

In line with our leadership continuity plan, our CEO Mr. Surendran Chemmenkotil has been elevated to Managing Director, reinforcing operational execution at a critical juncture. In this role, Surendran will continue to work closely with me and the Board to drive sustainable growth, integrate strategic investments, accelerate innovation, and contribute meaningfully to the broader healthcare ecosystem. His elevation reflects our confidence in his ability to create long-term shareholder value while staying aligned with Metropolis' mission of delivering trusted, high-quality diagnostics.

FY 2024–25 has been a year of momentum, discipline, and clarity. I am deeply grateful to our teams, customers, partners, and shareholders for their unwavering support. I also extend my sincere appreciation to our doctors, employees, and Board members for their dedication and contributions throughout the year.

We have laid a strong foundation for strategic and sustainable progress in the years ahead. I would also like to acknowledge the continued support of local, state, and national governments across the regions we serve. Together, we are not just adapting to a changing healthcare landscape—we are helping shape it. With collective ambition and a firm commitment to excellence, I am confident that Metropolis will continue to lead the future of diagnostics in India.