Shares of insurtech major Policybazaar’s parent PB Fintech rose nearly 2% in early trading hours to hit a fresh all-time high of INR 2,246.95 apiece on the BSE
The rally in the stock price came after the company set up a new subsidiary to offer healthcare services
PB Fintech’s group chairman and CEO Yashish Dahiya said earlier that the company would make a one-time investment of $100 Mn to acquire a 30% stake in its healthcare subsidiary
Shares of insurtech major Policybazaar’s parent PB Fintech rose nearly 2% in early trading hours to hit a fresh all-time high of INR 2,246.95 apiece on the BSE today (January 3) after the company ventured into the healthcare segment.
In an exchange filing, the company said it has set up a new wholly-owned subsidiary by the name of PB Healthcare Services Private Limited.
The move was greenlit by the insurance major’s board last month. In September, group chairman and CEO Yashish Dahiya said that PB Fintech would make a one-time investment of $100 Mn to acquire a 30% stake in a new healthcare company.
It is to be noted that brokerage firm Bernstein had expressed caution earlier over the company’s healthcare plans, arguing that it would mark a departure from an asset-light business model to an asset-heavy one.
In the past, the company management has also acknowledged the healthcare venture’s risks, given the one-time nature of the investment. However, PB Fintech cofounder and CFO Alok Bansal told CNBC-TV18 last year that the company was not planning to buy physical assets like hospitals.
If the healthcare foray doesn’t go as expected, Bernstein has capped the downside at $100 Mn. But if successful, it could further embolden PB Fintech’s position in the health insurance segment.
The development comes at a time when PB Fintech is looking to move beyond its bread-and-butter financial services business. Last year, the company incorporated a subsidiary PB Pay as part of its plan to venture into the payment aggregator business.
Another of its subsidiaries, PB Financial Account Aggregator Private Limited (PBAA) received the account aggregator licence from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in October 2024.
PB Fintech reported a consolidated net profit of INR 50.98 Cr in the second quarter (Q2) of the fiscal year 2024-25 (FY25) against a loss of INR 21.11 Cr in the year-ago quarter. Notably, this was the fourth consecutive profitable quarter for the company.
Revenue from operations jumped over 43% to INR 1,167.2 Cr in Q2 FY25 from INR 811.6 Cr in the year-ago period.
PB Fintech shares were trading 0.39% higher at INR 2,213.85 apiece on the BSE at 3:18 PM.
