Manipal Health Enterprises Limited

Healthcare — Medical Care Facilities · NSE

₹646.35+₹4.65 (+0.72%)

DalalBaazaar Score

47 / 100

🟡 Moderate

Verdict

CAUTION

Risk

High

Driven by moderate debt load, a very high earnings multiple, which leaves little margin for disappointment, falling profits.

In simple words: The business is earning a fairly low return on the money invested in it, though profits are falling even as sales grow. Valuation is currently the main factor to watch.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 6:07 pm

Caution warranted. Multiple fundamental metrics — flagged in red below — point to either valuation stretch, leverage risk, or weakening profitability. This doesn't mean avoid the stock outright, but it does mean the burden of proof is on the growth story to justify the current price.

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

The 60-second version of Manipal Health Enterprises Limited — what it does, how it earns, and who it competes with, before any of the numbers below.

What does this company do?

Manipal Health Enterprises Limited operates hospitals in India. The company offers services, such as multi-specialty tertiary and quaternary care through its network of hospitals.

IndustryMedical Care Facilities

SectorHealthcare

Employees24,240

Annual revenue₹10,936 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹10,936 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹6 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹27 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 24,240 employees supports ₹45.1 lakh of revenue a year, the signature of a people-led business.

EBITDA margin26.8%

Net margin6.0%

Revenue / employee₹45.1 lakh

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are APOLLO HOSPITALS ENTER. L, SUN PHARMACEUTICAL IND L, CIPLA LTD. These are the companies its valuation and returns are measured against elsewhere in this report.

APOLLO HOSPITALS ENTER. LP/E 54.3x · ROE 22.0%

SUN PHARMACEUTICAL IND LP/E 34.9x · ROE 14.5%

CIPLA LTDP/E 31.8x · ROE 9.8%

What is its competitive advantage?Little sign of one

Returns on capital of 9.8% are at or below what the capital likely costs. That is the financial pattern of a business competing largely on price, where advantage has to come from execution rather than position.

ROCE9.8%

ROE7.8%

Peer median ROE14.5%

What is the outlook?

9 analysts covering the stock expect revenue to grow about 16.1% and earnings to grow about 48.8% in the year to 2028. These are estimates by people who follow the company, not a forecast for the wider industry.

Est. revenue growth+16.1%

Est. earnings growth+48.8%

Analysts9

What has been driving growth?

Growth has come mainly from selling more, rather than from keeping more of each sale. Over 2 years revenue moved +80% while net margin moved -39% relative to itself. What this cannot tell you is which products, customers or geographies did the work — that lives in the segment disclosures of the annual report.

Revenue effect+80%

Margin effect-39%

DalalBaazaar Score

47/ 100

Moderate

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ P/E of 133.5x is demanding — it needs sustained high growth to justify
✗ P/B of 9.05x is a steep premium to book

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

48/ 100

Average

How good the business is, ignoring the share price entirely.

Valuation

23/ 100

Expensive

What you are being asked to pay, ignoring how good the business is.

A reasonable business at a reasonable price — neither the quality nor the valuation stands out in either direction.

Historical Valuation

Current P/E

133.5x

Sector Median

34.9x

median of 3 sector peers

⚠️Against its sector it trades 283% above the peer median of 34.9x.

vs. its own history

Not enough price and earnings history

vs. sector peers

Expensive

34.9x median of 3 peers · +283%

vs. generic bands

Expensive

Above 35x

P/E (Trailing)

133.5x

P/B

9.05x

EV/EBITDA

33.3x

PEG

26.84

Dividend Yield

None

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well0

Nothing stands out as clearly improving on the years of data available.

🔴 What Needs Attention4

Debt is rising
Total debt is up 151% over 2 years — worth checking what it funded.
Return on equity is falling
ROE has dropped from 14.8% to 7.8% — each rupee of shareholder capital earns less than it did.
Return on capital is falling
ROCE has declined from 12.6% to 9.8% — often a sign of competition or overexpansion.
Receivables growing faster than sales
Receivables are up 103% against revenue growth of 80% — customers are taking longer to pay.

Red Flags

3 items require attention · 2 high · 1 watch

🔴Debt has risen sharplyFinancial
Total debt is up 151% over 2 years, from ₹5,130 Cr to ₹12,863 Cr.
🔴Thin interest coverageFinancial
Operating profit covers interest only 1.8x — little room if earnings dip.
🟡Receivables growing faster than salesFinancial
Receivables up 103% against revenue up 80% — sales are being booked faster than they are collected.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

No clear supporting case emerges from the available numbers.

🔴 Bear CaseWhat could go wrong?

The debt load needs earnings to hold up
Debt is 4.4x EBITDA. At that level a downturn in earnings turns a manageable balance sheet into a refinancing problem, and lenders get paid before shareholders.
Sales are being booked faster than collected
Receivables are up 103% against revenue up 80%. If customers keep taking longer to pay, reported profit will not turn into cash — and write-offs follow if some never do.
A premium to the sector to defend
It trades 283% above the peer median. That premium needs a reason that persists, or it closes.
Returns on shareholder capital are falling
ROE has dropped from 14.8% to 7.8%. Each rupee of equity earns less than it did, so profit growth increasingly depends on raising more capital rather than on the existing base working harder.
Several serious flags at once
2 high-severity checks triggered. Individually each has an explanation; together they raise the chance that something structural is wrong rather than a one-off.

🟡 Key Things to WatchMeasurable tripwires, set against where this company stands today

1Revenue growth stays above 26% a year✓ 34.1% CAGR
Latest reported year was 38.1%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
2EBITDA margin holds above 25%✓ 26.8%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
3Debt / EBITDA falls below 3x✗ 4.4x
Already stretched, so this is a reduction target rather than a level to hold. Around 3x is where lenders typically start attaching conditions.
4Interest cover stays above 3x✗ 1.8x
How much operating profit can fall before interest stops being comfortably covered.
5Free cash flow remains positive✓ ₹762 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.

Investment Checklist

5 / 12 checks passed

✗ Strong return on equity (ROE ≥ 15%)
✗ Strong return on capital employed (ROCE ≥ 15%)
✗ Healthy net margin (≥ 10%)
✓ Generates positive free cash flow
✗ Manageable leverage (Debt/Equity < 1.0)
✓ Adequate short-term liquidity (Current Ratio ≥ 1.0)
✓ Revenue growing year-over-year
✗ Profit growing year-over-year
✗ Not trading at an extreme valuation (P/E < 40x)
✓ Not buying right at the 52-week high
✓ Analyst consensus isn't majority-sell
✗ Short-term technical trend isn't bearish

Price history

Quick Metrics

3 good · 4 neutral · 4 weak

Market Cap

₹85,019 Cr

Mid Cap

Mid-sized — more growth headroom, but sharper swings than large caps

P/E (Trailing)

133.5x

Expensive

Expensive — verify against sector peers

P/B Ratio

9.05x

Rich

Steep premium to book — needs high, durable returns to justify

EPS (TTM)

₹4.84

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

7.8%

Weak

Weak capital efficiency

ROCE

9.8%

Moderate

Moderate return on the capital in the business

Debt/Equity

1.46x

Moderate

Moderate leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

38.1%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

-9.7%

Falling

Profits are shrinking

Dividend Yield

None

No dividend yield reported — usually means no payout, but verify if one was recently initiated

Free Cash Flow

₹762 Cr

Cash generative

Generates cash even after funding its capex

More Metrics

CMP

₹646.35

P/E (Forward)

45.3x

Improving

Below the trailing multiple — the street expects earnings to grow into the price

Operating Margin

17.8%

Good

Healthy core-business profitability

Net Margin

7.8%

Average

Average bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

1.22

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

52W Range Position

11%

Near low

Near its 52-week low

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

703.1 / 716.2

Bearish alignment (short < long)

RSI (14)

32.0

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (3-Year)

Metric	FY24	FY25	FY26	2Y CAGR
Revenue	₹6,079 Cr	₹9,264 Cr	₹10,936 Cr	+34.1%
EBITDA	₹1,682 Cr	₹2,468 Cr	₹2,928 Cr	+32.0%
EBITDA Margin	27.7%	26.6%	26.8%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹594 Cr	₹513 Cr	₹655 Cr	+5.0%
EPS	₹4.52	₹3.9	—	—
ROE	14.8%	8.8%	7.8%	—
ROCE	12.6%	10.0%	9.8%	—
Total Debt	₹5,130 Cr	₹11,901 Cr	₹12,863 Cr	+58.3%
Free Cash Flow	₹1,057 Cr	₹516 Cr	₹762 Cr	-15.1%

🟢 Revenue has grown at 34.1% a year over 2 years.

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 32.0% a year over 2 years.

🟡 EBITDA Margin has held roughly flat at 26.8% over 2 years.

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has grown at 5.0% a year over 2 years.

🔴 ROE has fallen from 14.8% to 7.8% over 2 years (-7.0 pts).

🔴 ROCE has fallen from 12.6% to 9.8% over 2 years (-2.7 pts).

🔴 Total Debt has grown at 58.3% a year over 2 years.

🔴 Free Cash Flow has shrunk at 15.1% a year over 2 years.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹24,865 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹16,066 Cr

Total Debt

₹12,863 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹299 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹2,078 Cr

Capex

-₹1,316 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

6.3%

Insider Holding

86.1%

Analyst Consensus

Recommendations

6 Buy · 3 Hold · 0 Sell

Target Price (Mean)

₹825.56

+27.7% vs CMP

Target Range

₹750 – ₹880

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
APOLLO HOSPITALS ENTER. L	54.3x	22.0%
SUN PHARMACEUTICAL IND L	34.9x	14.5%
CIPLA LTD	31.8x	9.8%

Recent News

6 general

Manipal Health Enterprises Ltd. Share Price Live Today

CNBC TV18, 16 Oct

Manipal Health Enterprises Ltd. IPO

The Economic Times, 13 Oct

Credent Connect N Care Ltd (CREDENT) Share Price

Business Today, 14 Oct

Manipal Health Enterprises IPO to Open on July 29, 2026 - Check Price Band, Issue Size, Timeline & Key Details

Groww, 28 Jul

India's Manipal Health jumps on market debut, valuing hospital chain at $9 billion

Reuters, 05 Aug

Manipal Health Enterprises Lists at 10.5% Premium Over IPO Price; Stock Debut Beats Expectations Despite Muted GMP

India Infoline, 05 Aug

Watch Items

Cross-check against the company's latest quarterly filing / investor presentation before acting.

DalalBaazaar Thesis

🟡Business QualityAdequate10.3/20

🟡Financial HealthAdequate9.6/20

🟡GrowthModest10.9/20

🔴ProfitabilityWeak5.8/15

🔴ValuationDemanding3.2/15

🟢RiskLow7/10

Unremarkable in both directions

A reasonable business at a reasonable price. Nothing here is alarming and nothing is compelling, which usually means the decision rests on things this data cannot see — the industry's direction, management's intent, and what else is available to you. 2 high-severity red flags sit above this conclusion and should be read first.

This thesis breaks if

✓Revenue growth stays above 26% a year34.1% CAGR
✓EBITDA margin holds above 25%26.8%
✗Debt / EBITDA falls below 3x4.4x
✗Interest cover stays above 3x1.8x
✓Free cash flow remains positive₹762 Cr