Apollo Hospitals, parent company of Apollo Pharmacy, has said it plans to divest of its 49% stake in its pharmacy chain division in order to generate growth funds. Apollo Hospitals executive director of finance Suneeta Reddy told reporters the company would also explore the option of listing the pharmacy unit.

During its second quarter, ended September, Apollo Pharmacy grew turnover by almost 40% to INR166.3 crore (£22.8m), compared with INR118.9 crore (£15.5m) the previous year. Over the past year the group has added 44 new pharmacies, bringing its total to 1,110.

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