Chennai: Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd has announced its financial results for the quarter ended 30 June 2003. While the total income has increased by 7.26 per cent from Rs 1,064.46 million to Rs 1,141.72 million, the profit after tax showed an increase of 13.65 per cent, up from Rs 69.06 million to Rs 78.48 million.

The board of directors, in the meeting held on 21 July 2003, conferred the appointment of Haskins & Sells as auditors of the company, particularly in view of the fact that the company has global ambitions and an international auditing firm will help to achieve Apollo's ambitions to list internationally.

But, in view of the recent debate among Indian auditing firms on the legality of international auditing firms entering the Indian market, the company has decided to defer its decisions until such time as the controversy is resolved. Therefore, S Viswanathan & Co, the current auditors, will continue as the auditing firm of the company, subject to approvals from the shareholders.

The group has been aggressive in its international marketing initiatives, capitalising on the medical skills and world-class facilities that the group hospitals offer at a fraction of the international costs. As part of these initiatives, Apollo Hospitals has identified seven locations with access to international airports to target international patients (Hyderabad, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Colombo and Dubai).

The priority high-end specialities which are being focused on include cardiology, interventional, pediatric and cardio thoracic surgery, neurology and neurosurgery, orthopedics focused on hip and knee replacements, medical, surgical and radiation oncology, organ transplants specifically liver and bone marrow transplants, cosmetic and plastic surgery among others.

The international patients will primarily be from the South Asian region (Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal and Bhutan) Southeast Asian region (Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives and Mauritius), African region (Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Sudan and Somalia) Middle East and Gulf region (Oman, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia) and the Confederation of Independent States region (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgztan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan).

The strategy will comprise establishing an AIC (Apollo Information Centre) network, establishing government-private partnership for patients to be sent by the respective 'Treatment Abroad Committees,' referring private patients through health insurance HMOs and TPAs and through local doctor referrals.

The big announcement saw the Apollo Hospitals group establish a strong presence in Southeast Asia. The global oil giant, Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas), plans to set up a 302 bed hospital in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and has approached Apollo to provide assistance during the commissioning activities and to manage the hospital.

The KLCC Medical Centre will be established and developed as the leading tertiary care private hospital in Kuala Lumpur by Petronas. The hospital's design, facilities, treatment and patient care will be of international standards. KLCC will start as a 206-bed facility that will increase to 302 beds in phases, 48-bed addition in the third year and another 48 beds in the fifth year.

This hospital will provide emergency, ambulatory and acute medical services. The KLCC Medical Centre will be able to attract patients from Middle East and Indonesia as an alternative to Singapore and Bangkok. The hospital will be commissioned in October 2004. The feasibility report, business plan and hospital design for the hospital was done by the United Medical group of Australia.

The Apollo Hospitals group also announced a number of exciting initiatives for both the domestic and international markets. On the domestic front, Apollo Hospitals launched two unique initiatives, Health Card, an insurance scheme that covers a family of five for Rs 7,500 per annum, and a smart card launched specifically for students.

The Health Card is unique in that it covers pre-existing diseases and maternity services, and entitles the insured to avail outpatient consultation, investigations and in-patient treatment up to Rs 2 lakh per annum for the family. The smart card for students has been launched by the National Smart Card Consortium of Enterprises (Nascent), a consortium of ECIL, SETS and SITAR and Apollo Hospital Telemedicine Networking Foundation (ATNF), a not-for-profit organisation of the Apollo group.

Apollo Health and Lifestyle Ltd (AHLL), a subsidiary of the Apollo Hospitals group that runs the Apollo Clinics, launched a unique card. The Health Edge Card will entitle consumers to six free general practitioner consultations, a 20 per cent discount on diagnostics and a 15 per cent discount on health check-ups, among other benefits.

"While the group has continued to perform well in its core healthcare delivery business, our investments in the IT-led initiatives such as medical business process outsourcing have started paying dividends. We continue to look forward to even greater returns from these initiatives," says Dr PC Reddy, chairman, Apollo Hospitals group.

Apollo Health Street, the IT and IT-enable services wing of the group recently announced receiving the single largest business process outsourcing order across the Indian healthcare industry (provider and hospital space), valued at over Rs 30 crore, requiring Apollo to bill for over $100 million annually.