As Gaudium IVF and Women Health Ltd is gearing as much as go public, it’s undoubtedly a litmus check of investor urge for food for a sector in India that also considers fertility care a socially delicate enterprise slightly than a medical necessity. However, if profitable, the itemizing of Gaudium IVF and Women Health Ltd on India’s inventory markets may normalise fertility care within the public market, paving the best way for others. Less than a 12 months in the past, the nation’s largest fertility chain, Indira IVF, needed to withdraw its Rs 3,500 crore preliminary public providing (IPO) plans in March on account of regulatory considerations.
Even as fertility care or assisted copy is socially stigmatised in India, the business is shifting from fragmented boutique clinics to institutionalised, technology-driven healthcare. Therein lie alternatives for buyers, say consultants.
“Gaudium IVF and Women Health Limited presents a first-of-its-kind opportunity for public market investors to gain pure-play exposure to this high-margin, high-growth IVF sector,” says Prathamesh Sawant, analysis analyst, Deven Choksey Research.
The fertility market is rising in India, pushed by rising infertility charges, growing lifestyle-related reproductive challenges, delayed parenthood developments, rising consciousness and social acceptance of assisted reproductive expertise (ART) procedures, and bettering affordability of fertility remedies.
Delhi-based Gaudium IVF plans to boost Rs 165 crore by means of the IPO. The three-day sale, with a worth band of Rs 75 to Rs 79 per share, will shut for subscription on February 24. Ahead of the general public concern, Gaudium IVF has raised Rs 49.5 crore from a clutch of anchor buyers, together with Meru Investment Fund, Sanshi Fund, Hornbill Orchid India Fund, and Carnelian India Multi Strategy Fund.
The firm plans to utilise a lot of the recent concern proceeds to arrange new IVF centres and repay sure excellent borrowings.
Incorporated in 2015 by Manika Khanna, a specialist with superior coaching in gynaecological endoscopic surgical procedure, Gaudium IVF and Women Health is a pan-India fertility and girls’s healthcare companies supplier working by means of a hub-and-spoke mannequin.
“Gaudium IVF appears well-positioned to benefit from the structurally growing fertility market in India, supported by its proprietary Gaudium Advanced Analysis and Treatment (GAAT) module, consistent clinical success rates of 58 percent, and stable treatment volumes,” says Abhishek Jain, analyst, Arihant Capital. Designed for complicated infertility instances, the GAAT module displays a strategic deal with personalised, genome-based fertility options.
Assisted Reproduction as an Asset Class: Are Valuations Fair?
According to analysts at BP Equities, the problem is valued at a price-to-earnings (PE) ratio of 25.3 instances on the higher worth band, based mostly on FY25 earnings. “Overall, improving financial performance, scalable infrastructure, and structural industry growth drivers provide long-term growth visibility,” they clarify.
What positions the corporate for sustainable cash-flow technology as utilisation scales is its asset-light construction, which helps calibrated capex depth, higher return ratios, and managed leverage.
“On the financial front, the business model is characterised by revenue visibility driven by IVF cycle volumes, relatively high gross margins inherent in ART procedures, and improving EBITDA margins as centres mature and fixed costs are absorbed over higher throughput,” analysts at BP Equities add.
According to Jain, with robust scientific credibility, built-in service choices and scalable infrastructure, the corporate is strategically positioned to drive sustainable progress, enhance common income per affected person, and strengthen its aggressive standing within the organised fertility care section. “At the upper band of Rs79, the issue is valued at a PE ratio of 22.98 times, based on trailing 12 months earnings per share (EPS) of Rs3.4.”
Others concur. Greater consciousness of assisted reproductive applied sciences (ART), notably IVF, throughout city and semi-urban centres is predicted to speed up adoption amongst sufferers.
Sawant finds Gaudium IVF buying and selling at 20 instances, 18 instances and 14 instances FY26, FY27 and FY28 earnings respectively. This progress is predicted to be pushed largely by centre enlargement, rising medical tourism and elevated adoption of superior therapy applied sciences. However, he’ll be careful for execution and scaling, notably expertise acquisition and retention.
Stigma to Scale
While IVF stays the first income contributor, the corporate has diversified into hospital companies and pharmacy operations. Its main income comes from three segments: IVF Treatment (78 p.c), pharmacy (16.5 p.c) and hospitals (5 p.c). It operates over thirty areas with seven full-service hubs and twenty-eight spoke centres. Its key centres are positioned in Delhi, Mumbai, Ludhiana, Srinagar, Patna and Bengaluru.
In FY2025, income from operations of Gaudium IVF was Rs70.7 crore, EBITDA was Rs28.62 crore, whereas internet revenue was Rs19.1 crore. This compares with Rs47.9 crore in income and Rs10.3 crore in internet revenue in FY2024.
In distinction, market chief Indira IVF’s income from operations was Rs1,604.53 crore in FY25, EBITDA was Rs530.55 crore and internet revenue was Rs297.75 crore. Financial information for FY25 for peer corporations Nova Medical Centre and CK Birla Healthcare usually are not accessible for comparability as they’re unlisted.
The Indian IVF market, valued at $1.32 billion in 2024, is projected to achieve $4.54 billion by 2034 at a CAGR of 13.13 p.c, in keeping with an Infomerics Research Report. It estimates India’s share within the world IVF market rising to eight.3 p.c from 4.8 p.c, positioning the nation among the many fastest-growing fertility markets worldwide. The world IVF market, pegged at $27.49 billion in 2024, is projected to double to $54.60 billion by 2034 at a CAGR of seven.10 p.c.
With an estimated 27.5 million {couples} affected by infertility and solely 300,000 IVF cycles carried out yearly, a big therapy hole persists, underscoring each the depth of unmet demand and the sizeable runway for sustained long-term progress.
According to business estimates, India provides IVF at $3,000-4,000 in comparison with $15,000-20,000 within the US, a 75-80 p.c mark-up. The authorities’s medical visa facilitation framework additional reduces friction for inbound affected person circulation, positioning India as a number one fertility tourism vacation spot in Asia.
IVF Goes Institutional: Are There Risks Attached?
Sawant factors out that impending litigations involving Gaudium and its promoter entity, burgeoning receivables from credit-driven gross sales, delays within the execution of deliberate capex, and growing aggressive depth are main dangers for the corporate. Gaudium IVF and its promoters presently face a heavy focus of litigation within the tax area, which can function a proxy for historic governance high quality.
“The company is exposed to regulatory and workforce retention risks in a specialist healthcare segment, with high attrition among key professionals potentially affecting service quality. It also faces significant contingent liabilities and competition from larger healthcare players that could pressure margins and growth,” say analysts at Ventura Securities.
Employee attrition stays an elevated operational danger, with the corporate reporting charges of 51 p.c, 51 p.c, and 63 p.c in FY2023, FY2024, and FY2025, respectively, implying practically two-thirds of the workforce turned over in FY2025 alone. The three-year pattern displays a structural retention problem slightly than a one-off disruption.
However, it stays to be seen whether or not the itemizing of a fertility care model turns into sector-defining for capital markets in India, or just one other entry within the IPO ledger.
