Shares of PB Fintech, parent company of insurance-tech giant Policybazaar, rose nearly 2 per cent in early trade to hit a new all-time high of INR 2,246.95 apiece on the BSE.
The share price rise came after the company created a new subsidiary to offer healthcare services.
Yashish Dahiya, chairman and managing director of PB Fintech Group, earlier said the company would make a one-time investment of $100 million to acquire a 30% stake in its healthcare subsidiary.
Shares of PB Fintech, parent company of insurancetech giant Policybazaar, rose nearly 2% in early trade 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 established a new wholly-owned subsidiary under the name PB Healthcare Services Private Limited.
The move was given the green light by the insurance major’s board last month. In September, the group’s chief executive officer, Yashish Dahiya, said that PB Fintech would make a one-time investment of $100 million to acquire a 30% stake in a new healthcare company.
It is worth noting that brokerage firm Bernstein had previously expressed caution over the company’s healthcare plans, arguing that they would mark a shift from an asset-light to an asset-heavy business model.
In the past, the company’s management has also recognized the risks associated with the healthcare project, given the one-time nature of the investment. However, PB Fintech co-founder and CFO Alok Bansal told CNBC-TV18 last year that the company had no plans to buy physical assets like hospitals.
If the foray into health care doesn’t go as planned, Bernstein has capped the decline at $100 million. But if successful, it could further strengthen PB Fintech’s position in the health insurance segment.
This development comes at a time when PB Fintech is looking to go beyond its financial services business. Last year, the company formed a PB Pay subsidiary as part of its plan to enter the payment aggregator sector.
Another of its subsidiaries, PB Financial Account Aggregator Private Limited (PBAA) received the account aggregator license 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 financial year 2024-25 (FY25) against a loss of INR 21.11 Cr in the year-ago quarter. Notably, this marks the fourth consecutive profitable quarter for the company.
Operating revenue surged over 43% to INR 1,167.2 Cr in Q2 FY25 from INR 811.6 Cr in the year-ago period.
Shares of PB Fintech were trading 0.39% higher at INR 2,213.85 a piece on the BSE at 3:18 p.m.