'We're a savings portal, not q-comm'

After a turbulent period of leadership churn and persistent losses, API Holdings, the parent of Pharmeasy, Thyrocare and medicine distributor Ascent, is focused on stitching all its business segments into a single, profitable OPD healthcare platform.

- RAHUL GUHA, MD & CEO, API HOLDINGS

Rahul Guha, who formally took over as MD and CEO last August, tells Ayanti Bera how the company plans a turnaround and the focus on deleveraging the balance sheet ahead of a potential market listing. Excerpts:

How are you settling into your new role?

It hasn't been a sudden transition for me. I joined Thyrocare in May 2022 as MD and CEO, and in February 2024, I was appointed President-Operations at API Holdings, which came with the responsibility of driving group-level synergies. By the time I formally took over as CEO and MD in August, I had already spent close to 15 months working on integration and operations.

What were your immediate priorities when you took on the group operations role?

Back then, we were essentially four separate companies pursuing independent strategies. My mandate was to capture synergies across the group. For instance, Pharmeasy and other API Holdings' group companies were buying medicines, but only 20-30% of procurement came from Ascent. We changed that and today, internal sourcing is the first preference. Similarly, in certain cities, each entity had its own warehouse. We consolidated these into single mother warehouses serving all businesses, which helped reduce costs.

Your Ebitda improved sharply in H1 FY26. What specific measures drove that improvement?