South Africa's second-biggest hospital company Mediclinic is planning to open new clinics in Abu Dhabi and Dubai as part of an aggressive UAE expansion plan.
The Stellenbosch-based company, which operates 10 hospitals and clinics in Dubai, said yesterday that it had allocated Dh88 million to invest in new hospitals and equipment over the coming financial year as it builds up its presence here.
It plans to open its first clinic in Abu Dhabi on the Corniche during the fourth quarter of this year, and also aims to complete a Dh213m extension to its Mediclinic City Hospital in Dubai Heathcare City by the second quarter of 2015.
In its full-year results published yesterday on the South African stock exchange, Mediclinic said that the new Dubai facility would include a state-of-the-art oncology unit developed in association with Hirslanden, an expanded reference laboratory servicing the entire Mediclinic Middle East, a day surgery unit and a rehabilitation centre.
"Despite regulatory uncertainties, we remain optimistic about our role in delivering quality care in the markets we serve," said Danie Meintjes, the chief executive of Mediclinic International.
Mediclinic said that it had invested Dh27m in new hospitals and equipment in the UAE over the past year, which included opening its Mediclinic Beach Road in Dubai and the opening of a second floor at its Mediclinic City Hospital also in the city, increasing the number of beds to 382.
The company posted a loss of 1 billion rand (Dh389.3m) compared with a profit of 1.22bn rand the previous year.
It put the result down to the oneoff costs of a debt refinancing, taking full control of Emirates Healthcare last August, acquiring Varkey Group's 44.4 per cent stake for Dh734m and General Electric's 5.2 per cent stake for as much as Dh86.7m.
Overall revenues increased 11.8 per cent from 22bn rand to 24.6bn rand.
In the Middle East division they rose 39 per cent from 1.8bn rand to 2.5bn rand.