Apollo Hospitals chairman Prathap C Reddy has announced that Apollo Hospital will invest about Rs 1,800 crore by 2013 for strengthening its bed capacity to 13,500 across 70 operational hospitals in India as well as abroad.     

Presently, Apollo runs a chain of 46 hospitals in cities comprising Bangalore, New Delhi, Chennai and Hyderabad.

Moreover, Mr. Reddy has also made announcement about the opening of its 47th hospital with 300-bed capacity in Bhubaneswar.

"By mid-February 2010, Apollo Hospitals will open its 47th Hospital in the Temple City of Bhubaneswar (Orissa) with 300 beds, modern diagnostic equipments and super-speciality services...," Mr. Reddy added.

Apollo's Bhubaneswar-based hospital will be linked to global centres via a dedicated telemedicine network.

Recently, Apollo Hospitals received $50-million as term loan from World Bank's subsidiary International Finance Corporation (IFC) for growth of its 'Reach' Hospitals.

The first three Reach Hospitals would become operational shortly, and financing for the initial stage involving establishment of 20 Apollo Reach Hospitals is ready.

Apollo has nominated R Basil as the Executive President of Apollo Hospitals group.

For the three month period ended December 30, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise has recorded a growth of 48.70% to Rs 439.10 million as against Rs 295.30 million during the corresponding period of 2008.

During the period, net sales of the company surged 28.92% to Rs 4,808.70 million, whereas total income increased by 29.18% to Rs 4,915.20 million.

It reported an EPS of Rs 7.10 per share during the third quarter, recording 44.90% increase against prior year period.

The shares of the company closed at Rs 684.15, up 3.6%, on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). The share price has seen a 52-week high of Rs 749 and a low of Rs 350 on BSE.

Current EPS & P/E ratio stood at 24.58 and 27.83 respectively.