NMC Health to earn from Saudi investment

It bought a 70% stake in As Salama Hospital and invested $4m in a start-up in Jeddah

NMC Health Plc expects its latest investments in Saudi Arabia to boost earnings in 2017 as the London-listed company expands.

The Abu Dhabi-based health care provider invested $32 million in the kingdom, Prasanth Manghat, deputy chief executive officer, said in a television interview with Bloomberg Markets Middle East. The company bought a 70 per cent stake in As Salama Hospital in Al Khobar for $28 million and invested $4 million in a startup in Jeddah. It added 260 beds in the western and eastern regions of the country.

All indicators are showing growth this year, Manghat said. The company raised its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation guidance by $10 million to $300 million for 2017 following the investments. NMC Health is “confident” for 2017 as Dubai rolls out mandatory health insurance, he said.

The company is in the “final stages” of opening five fertility centres in the UAE, Qatar and Oman, he said. It is also exploring potential acquisitions in the Middle East and elsewhere and is looking for a partner that would give “scale or scope,” Manghat said.

NMC Health could raise $300 million from loans if needed and would consider issuing a bond if an acquisition was too large to be supported by bank debt alone.

Saudi Arabia remains an important market for longterm care, Manghat said. Budget cuts have opened opportunities for the private sector in the kingdom, where 35 per cent of ICU beds are filled by long-term patients, he said.