Dr. Agarwal's Eye Hospital to invest Rs. 600 crore for expansion.

A little over one-third of India's population is afflicted by some form of eye disorder. Experts say, over 80% of visual impairment is preventable or treatable, which gives a good business potential for developing eye care delivery centres in India.

To tap this opportunity, Dr Agarwal’s Eye Hospital, a Chennai-based eye care chain, plans to invest Rs. 600 crore for the expansion of its facilities in India and abroad. The company, which currently has 60 hospitals, plans to have around 200 hospitals by 2020.

The company aims at being a pan-India player by 2020 with a turnover of around Rs. 1,000 crore and as a short-term target, i.e.2016-17, it is eyeing around Rs. 500 crore.

Traditionally focused in South India, the 49-year-old firm has chalked out plans to spread out in northern parts of the country and globally as well. It is looking at a hub-and-spoke model and is said to be open for inorganic growth.

The company recently entered the Eastern market by opening a hospital at Kolkata. Meanwhile, on the global front, it has 14 hospitals in Africa, one in Cambodia, one in Mauritius.

Dr. Agarwal’s growth strategy includes expanding their hospital network in Africa and entering markets like UAE, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Philippines. On the domestic front, the group will consolidate its presence in existing states and will be setting up new hospitals in Kerala, Gujarat, New Delhi, Maharashtra and Punjab.

“Our Vision 2020 is to strengthen the brand and double the number of hospitals with footprints across India, Africa, Middle East and South East Asia,” said Dr Amar Agarwal, chairman and managing director, Dr Agarwal's Group of Eye Hospitals, adding that funding will not be an issue. The company, which has around Rs 25 crore of debt, said that other mode of funding would be debt and internal accruals. Recently, it raised $45 million from ADV Partners to fund the expansion.

BS