NMC Health (NMC) chief executive BR Shetty purchased a staggering £50m-worth of shares in July. Judging by the share price, however, this didn't attract much attention. Perhaps a strong set of results will do more for the UAE-based private healthcare provider, which floated in 2012.
Inpatient numbers grew 12 per cent during the first half to just over 21,000. The occupancy rate was 6.5 percentage points higher than last year, at 70 per cent, while average revenue per patient has risen 1.6 per cent to nearly $114. To cope with this growth, the company has employed 102 doctors over the past 12 months.
To capitalise on a two-year roll-out of mandatory health insurance in Dubai, NMC opened its DIP General Hospital in the city in July. Chief operating officer Binay Shetty said the new opening was "well timed": last year saw the sharpest increase in demand across NMC's Dubai assets since the company started operating there in 1999.
Next to open is the Al Ain Medical Centre, but NMC is spending most of its money - $200m to be exact - on the new Khalifa City Hospital in Abu Dhabi, due to open in the first half of 2015.
Broker Numis expects full-year operating profit of $80.6m, giving EPS of 37ȼ.
| NMC HEALTH (NMC) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 476p | MARKET VALUE: | £884m | |
| TOUCH: | 471-483p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 547p | LOW: 308p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 0.9% | PE RATIO: | 19 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 222ȼ | NET DEBT: | 24% | |
| Half-year to 30 June | Turnover ($m) | Pre-tax profit ($m) | Earnings per share (ȼ) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 273 | 32.3 | 17.1 | 0 |
| 2014 | 314 | 40.9 | 21.7 | 0 |
| % change | +15 | +27 | +27 | - |
£1 = 1.66 | ||||
