NMC Health, a leading private healthcare operator in the GCC, has posted a net profit of $251.9 million for 2018, as against a net profit of $209.2 million in the previous year, marking an increase of 20.4 per cent.

Strong financial performance with continued growth (both organically and inorganically) with Group revenues growing by 28.3 per cent to $2,057.3 million.

Weighted average shares outstanding in FY 2018 stood at 209.3 million shares compared to 205.8 million shares in FY 2017. The increase resulted from the issuance of 3.5 million shares for partial payment of outstanding minorities in Fakih IVF and exercise of share options.

Prasanth Manghat, chief executive officer, commented: “2018 was another year of records for NMC: highest ever revenues, EBITDA and profit for the Company. From an operational standpoint, several high-profile strategic initiatives were completed, which will further cement our position as the leading healthcare operator in the region.”

“Be it the formation of a JV with GOSI/Hassana Investment Company, further expansion of the IVF platform, enhancement of cosmetics capabilities through the acquisition of CosmeSurge or substantial knowledge acquisition through Aspen Healthcare, all steps taken during the year fit well into the three key tenets of our strategy: Capacity building, Capability building and Geographic expansion.

“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 came in ahead of our guidance at $2.1 billion and $487.4 million, respectively. 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 line,” he added.

“Margin enhancement and improving cash flows remain the cornerstone of our financial performance. With nearly half of our operational beds in ramp-up phase, this trend is set to continue for the foreseeable future. As operations at our key assets, such as NMC Royal and our Saudi portfolio, move towards maturity, income and cash generation are expected to improve significantly in the short to medium term.

“In addition to strong operational performance, NMC also continues to benefit from sustained economic expansion in its core markets. For example, our home market of UAE is projected to grow at 3.1 per cent in 2019 by the Institute of International Finance, the fastest in the GCC. Saudi Arabia is similarly anticipated to maintain a positive economic trend, with the IMF projecting GDP growth of 1.8 per cent and 2.1 per cent, respectively.

“Moreover, the healthcare sector remains a key focus point for governments in all the main markets we operate in and promoting private participation is a common theme across all these countries. Given NMC's philosophy of honing in on segments where governments are most keen to find private sector partners, the Company acts as an ideal and responsible corporate citizen in its target markets.  

“In summary, we continue to see the future with optimism and feel that NMC remains ideally positioned to capitalize on growth opportunities in its key markets. Our time-tested strategy serves as the appropriate framework to continue to drive our rapid growth. Moreover, I remain confident we have the right team in place to continue to build out what has proven to be the leading healthcare business out of the GCC,” Manghat concluded. – TradeArabia News Service