Apollo Hospitals promoter stake sale proceeds to bring down pledged holdings; Stock recovers

As many as 18.97 lakh shares, or 1.32% equity of Apollo Hospitals worth ₹1,489 crore, had changed hands during the block deal window on Friday.

Apollo’s filing further states that proceeds from this stake sale will be used to bring down the pledged holdings of the promoter and promoter group to nearly 2% from 13.1% currently.Promoter’s stake in Apollo Hospitals will fall to 28% from 29.3% earlier.

On Thursday, August 21,

CNBC-TV18 had reported, citing sources that promoter and managing director of Apollo Hospitals Suneeta Reddy was likely to divest 1.25% (18 lakh shares) of her stake in the company via a block deal.

The transaction was to be valued at ₹1,395 crore, with a floor price of ₹7,747 per share, sources said.

At the end of the June quarter, Suneeta Reddy owned 3.36% stake in the company in her individual capacity.

Apollo Hospitals reported a consolidated net profit of ₹433 crore in the first quarter, up 42% from the previous year’s ₹305 crore. Its revenue increased 14.9% to ₹5,842 crore form ₹5,085 crore last year.

The company’s EBITDA increased 26.3% to ₹851.5 crore while its operating margins expanded to 14.6% from 13.3% in the year-ago period.

Shares of Apollo Hospitals are recovering from their opening lows after this announcement, currently trading little changed at ₹7,923. The stock, ahead of Friday’s session, had gained over 9% in the last one month.

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