AT THE PEAK of the Covid-19 pandemic, the one thing that had become ubiquitous was the RT-PCR test. Scenes of swabs being thrust into the nose and throat had practically become part of regular life. What that also did was provide a fillip to the financials of diagnostic companies that were doing the tests. The possibility of a new revenue and profit stream also encouraged a herd of other entities to jump into the diagnostics fray. But now, as the pandemic wanes and RT-PCR testing peters to a trickle, the past few quarters have seen profits dip for leading diagnostic players. For example, market leader Dr Lal PathLabs, headquartered in New Delhi, recorded a 26.5 per cent dip in consolidated net profit to ₹61.3 crore in Q4FY22 from ₹83.4 crore in Q4FY21. Likewise, Mumbai-headquartered Metropolis Healthcare reported a 34.8 per cent decline in consolidated net profit at ₹39.99 crore in Q4FY22 compared to ₹61.35 crore in Q4FY21.

According to a report by Antique Stock Broking, margins reported during FY21 at the peak of