NMC Health, a London-listed UAE healthcare operator, posted a record profit for 2018 as revenues climbed on the back of cost efficiencies and the group's successful integration of acquired assets.
Net income for the 12-month period ending December 31 jumped 20.4 per cent year-on-year to $251.9 million (Dh924.8m), the company said in a bourse filing to London Stock Exchange. Total revenues advanced 28.3 per cent to $2.06bn for the period, driven by its healthcare division; its revenue surged 34.4 per cent, NMC said.
“Strong operational performance of our existing assets, combined with smooth integration of previous and new acquisitions, continue to translate into stellar financial performance. Both 2018 revenues and EBITDA [earnings before interest, tax depreciation and amortisation] came in ahead of our guidance at $2.1bn and $487.4m, respectively,” Prasanth Manghat, chief executive of NMC, said.
“Moreover, a strong start to the current year reinforces our confidence in the business and we remain confident that 2019 will prove to be another year of record top and bottom lines.”
From an operational standpoint, the company, which operates across the Arabian Gulf, completed several high-profile strategic initiatives last year including a preliminary agreement to expand its presence in Saudi Arabia.
Earlier this week, NMC announced that it has finalised a joint venture agreement with Saudi Arabia’s General Organization for Social Insurance that includes up to 6 billion riyals of investments in the kingdom over a five-year period.
The preliminary agreement was signed in October last year with Hassana Investment Company, the investment arm of GOSI, to set up a joint venture that will acquire and develop facilities with a capacity of up to 3,000 beds and employ up to 10,000 full-time and part-time employees, the company said.
“This partnership will allow NMC to significantly increase its pace of expansion in the kingdom, while simultaneously bringing best practices to the country,” Mr Manghat said at the time. “The attractive, but under-served Saudi healthcare market offers significant growth opportunities and the JV is uniquely placed to benefit from them."
Saudi Arabia, the biggest healthcare market in the GCC, is encouraging private sector involvement in its healthcare industry to help meet rising demand for medical services due to an expanding population, increased treatment costs and rising insurance coverage, according to a report from Dubai investment bank Alpen Capital.
