Three new hospitals to drive IHH's growth in 2017

IHH Healthcare also has operations in Turkey.

KUALA LUMPUR: Three new hospitals with 1,175 new beds in 2017 will drive growth for the group, said Maybank Investment Bank Research.

The research house said on Monday that this includes the 500-bed Gleneagles Hong Kong in 1H17, the 325-bed Acibadem Altunizade (1H17) in Istanbul, and the 350-bed ParkwayHealth Chengdu Hospital (2H17). 

“We have included these new hospitals in our forecast,” it said in a note.

On the Hong Kong hospital, which started operations in March 2017,the research house said it was ramping up progressively and startup costs have been kept within expectation. 

However it expects costs to accelerate in q2 FY17, as more specialties such as oncology and radiology will come on board. 

“Also, the hospital is only expected to see more patients starting in early-Jun 2017, as the early ramp phase focuses on cases with less complexity,” it said.

The research house maintained its Hold call on the counter with a target price of RM5.62.

In Q1 FY17, in-patient volumes and revenue per patient grew across all four home markets. 

Revenue per patient recorded strong growth in Malaysia, which saw a 10.8% increase on-year, due to opening of a more advanced hospital. 

Singapore recorded an upside surprise of healthy growth for both volume and pricing as the medical tourist contributions picked up, after a slow year in 2016.