New Delhi, Aug. 27 -- The diagnostic laboratory business in India is a volume-plus-realisations game, and Q1 FY27 offered a test of which players had built the more defensible version of each. Dr Lal PathLabs emerged with the clearest answer: revenue of approximately Rs 650 crore, up 15% year on year, with EBITDA margins at 26.4% - the highest in the listed peer group and well above the 23 to 24% range the company averaged through FY24 and FY25 when post-pandemic pricing normalised.

specialised and semi-specialised tests, which carry revenue per test of Rs 600 to Rs 1,200 compared to Rs 180 to Rs 300 for routine tests, now account for roughly 38% of revenue, up from 29% in Q1 FY24. That mix shift is what the margin number reflects.

Metr...