Business Forum • 30 August, 2024 at 10:26 AM
MedLife, the largest network of private healthcare services in Romania, presents its financial results for the first half of the current year, highlighting a significant increase in consolidated pro forma revenue, which reached RON 1.3 billion, up 24% compared to the same period last year.
The results obtained in the first 6 months of 2024 illustrate consistent growth in the financial and operational performance of the business. Additionally, the positive impact of integrating companies into the group and the investments made in recent years have begun to show their efficiency.
”The results from the first semester look good, both in terms of revenue and margins, confirming that the strategy we are following is sound and effective. We have strongly consolidated in recent times, being not only the only company listed on the stock exchange but also the only one with Romanian capital remaining at the top of medical services. We have invested in the medical team, in top technology and equipment, in digitalization and process optimizations, and the results have not been long in coming. We have robust growth in the medical services sector, a sign that Romanians have begun to place more value on prevention and health in general. In addition to prevention services, Romanians have also started to invest more in wellness, nutrition, and mindfulness, all of which contribute to a healthier lifestyle. So we are no longer talking about a health subscription, but about a health and wellness subscription - this integrated service package that helps you prevent diseases and maintain good health rather than just treating or intervening when the disease is already in an advanced stage,” said Mihai Marcu, President and CEO of MedLife Group.
Significant growth in prevention services
In general terms, the demand for medical services, especially in the prevention area, has increased, driven by a strong recognition of the quality of doctors within the network nationwide, medical technology, and the quality of medical care. Most of MedLife Group's business lines performed well compared to the same period last year. The largest growth was recorded in hospitals (+38%), laboratories (+29%), followed by the corporate division (+25%), and clinics (+23%).
On average, over 28,000 services are accessed daily within MedLife units, and most of these underline the great importance Romanians place on health. Likewise, MedLife has made significant progress in advanced surgical treatments - from robot-assisted interventions in urology and general surgery to complex operations in niche specialties such as oncology or neurosurgery. The Group has a strong presence in these fields in cities such as Cluj, Brasov, Sibiu, and Bucharest, reflecting its commitment to offering the best medical services and the most advanced technologies to patients.
“We are proud that MedLife, the leader and the only entrepreneurial company in the private medical sector, has always been a trailblazer and innovator, a model replicated by many companies in the sector a few years later. After nearly 20 years ago integrating a hospital into the private sector for the first time, we paved the way for integrating dentistry, on-site pharmacies, genetics, and medical optics. In the last year, we have become pioneers and the first medical operator in prevention and wellness.
We believe that employers will increasingly look towards integrated subscriptions with wellness, stress management, dentistry, or nutrition. People, in general, feel the need more and more to monitor their health, exercise, relax, and eat healthier. We are confident that entering the wellness segment will be important, that we will thus be able to contribute to the health and well-being of employees of the companies we serve, and even, gradually, to bring significant savings to the state budget. But more importantly, we will achieve a healthier population in the long term. And I firmly believe that this is the future, not just at the level of Romania, but also at European level,” said CEO and President of MedLife Group.
Objectives for the coming period
For the current year, MedLife continues to provide its patients with high-quality services, investing in digitalization and top technology to bring the medicine of the future closer. Moreover, in recent years, the company has made the largest investments in the medical sector in the field of robotics. It is well known that MedLife has heavily relied on surgical robots, becoming the only network in Romania, and one of the few in Europe, to transport patients' biological samples using drones.
Strategic objectives include maintaining medical services at the highest standards, completing ongoing projects such as the expansion of MedLife Medical Park, and inaugurating hospitals in Timișoara and Craiova, expected to be operational by the end of the year.
In terms of new acquisitions and expansion efforts, the company's representatives confirmed their interest and openness to new development opportunities, both domestically and in neighboring countries. Beyond the intention to consolidate in Hungary, MedLife is also considering testing other markets in the region.
At the same time, the company's representatives are confident that prudence in acquisitions and mergers will contribute to improving profit margins and gradually reducing the net debt/EBITDA ratio.
Currently, MedLife Group has the strongest network of diagnosis and treatment in Romania, with over 6.5 million unique patients having used prevention, wellness, treatment, and hospitalization services.