$LALPATHLAB

Dr Lal PathLabs shares surged in morning trade on Monday after the diagnostics company reported better-than-expected earnings for the June quarter. The stock jumped as much as 7.55% during the session and was later trading 5.53% higher at ₹1,856.50. The company posted a 28.02% year-on-year increase in consolidated net profit to ₹169.5 crore for the April-June quarter of FY27, compared with ₹132.4 crore in the corresponding period last year. Revenue from operations rose 19.10% to ₹797.7 crore from ₹669.8 crore a year earlier. According to the brokerage, the company's revenue, EBITDA and profit after tax exceeded its estimates by 4.5%, 12.9% and 13.3%, respectively. The outperformance was largely driven by stronger-than-expected realizations, supported by price hikes under the CGHS and ECHS schemes, which contributed around 2–3%, a favourable test mix with higher specialised testing, and a better geographic mix with increased contribution from markets offering stronger realizations. The brokerage noted that the management expects the benefits of the CGHS and ECHS price revisions to continue over the next two to three quarters. Following the strong first-quarter performance, the analyst has revised its FY27 estimates to factor in higher revenue growth and slightly lower EBITDA margins than previously projected. As a result, it has increased its FY27–FY29 earnings estimates by 6%.