NMC posts $77.5m profit, buys Spanish fertility clinic for $162m

The new acquisition, Eugin, is one of the largest fertility clinics in Europe and the established leader in cross-border fertility treatment.

By Isaac John (associate Business Editor)

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Published: Wed 25 Feb 2015, 11:22 PM

Last updated: Thu 25 Jun 2015, 11:57 PM

Dubai — NMC Health, a leading healthcare operator in the UAE, on Tuesday reported a 12.1 per cent rise in net profit to $77.5 million for 2014 and said it had acquired a global fertility treatment provider based in Barcelona for $162 million.

The integrated private healthcare provider said in a statement that total revenue of the group increased to $643.9 million in 2014, as against $550.9 million the previous year, marking an increase of 16.9 per cent, while the healthcare division revenue increased by 14.8 per cent to $332.2 million.

The new acquisition, Eugin, is one of the largest fertility clinics in Europe and the established leader in cross-border fertility treatment with patients from the largest Western European countries, as well as the Mena region. The shares are to be acquired from ProA Capital, Eugin’s founders and members of the Eugin management team, NMC said.

Dr B.R. Shetty, chief executive officer, said the group delivered double-digit earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation growth and set the stage for accelerated growth in the future supported by its growing network and the new $825 million financing facility announced in February 2015.

He said 2014 was a good year for NMC, where our divisions performed well.

“I am particularly proud of the three new healthcare assets we opened, including the first private-sector women’s hospital in Abu Dhabi.”

Dr Shetty said the acquisition of Eugin represented a unique juncture in the history of NMC, combining the leading UAE hospital franchise with a leading global fertility franchise.

“This transaction offers NMC the opportunity to become the leading integrated women’s health provider from fertility through obstetrics and paediatrics in the UAE, and also establishes a foothold for the company in the growing medical tourism market. The acquisition is expected to be accretive within the first year, and further progresses NMC’s strategy of creating centres of excellence across a number of clinical specialties,” he said.

According to Frost & Sullivan, the total fertility rate (number of children per woman) in the country has declined from 2.7 in the 2000 to 1.7 in 2010, with approximately one in six couples experiencing fertility problems. There is an acute shortage of world-class fertility treatment facilities in the country.

In 2014, NMC’s hospital bed occupancy rates reached 71.3 per cent, an improvement of 660bps, despite a 10 per cent increase in operational beds to 287. Doctors’ employed reached 603, an increase of 19.9 per cent. Distribution division increased its product portfolio by 17.4 per cent to 83,635 stock keeping units. “The macro-economic outlook for 2015 in the UAE and the gulf region remains positive and is expected to continue supporting the growth of our business divisions,” it said in a statement.

With the addition of the NMC General Hospital in Dubai Investment Park in 2014, NMC Health increased its bed capacity in Dubai by 55 per cent and now has three hospitals and a day surgery in the emirate. In addition, NMC is a leading distributor of pharmaceuticals, a segment expected to grow as a result of increased medical insurance penetration.

The flagship 250-bed NMC Super Specialty Hospital in Khalifa City, Abu Dhabi, is expected to join our portfolio of operational healthcare assets in 2015 and contribute towards the group’s growth in future periods.

— issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com


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