TMC Life Sciences Bhd, one of Malaysia’s fastest growing hospital operators, aims to grow further by extending its reach upstream within the health sciences industry.
The hospital operator with a RM1.5bil market capitalisation plans to extend its reach to provide education and extend its capabilities with the recent signing of two memorandum of understandings (MoUs) with foreign partners viz: UK-based Cell Therapy Ltd (CTL) and University College Dublin.
Its executive director and group chief executive officer Roy Quek siad that the group wanted to develop an integrated platform to provide healthcare services, medical education and research, as well as wellness and lifestyle programmes.
The partnership with CTL will explore and develop programmes to train medical professionals in the partner hospitals that include the affiliated Thompson Medical Centre in Singapore in regenerative medicine and stem cell technology whilst the MoU with University College Dublin aims for an establishment of a health sciences education and training platform in Malaysia and Singapore.
“The MoUs underscore our commitment to this vision – we are moving upstream into health sciences education and training, and medical research to meet the demand for high quality medical and healthcare professionals, as well as tap into new medical technologies to bring better care outcomes for our patients,” he said.
“Specifically with CTL, we intend to commence our clinical collaboration immediately at our flagship hospital in Kota Damansara,” said Quek.
The company aims to introduce these new products and services after the successful conclusion of clinical trials and relevant regulatory approvals.
He hopes to start the expansion projects at its Kota Damansara and Johor Bahru hospitals soon.
“With our planned expansion at both Kota Damansara and Vantage Bay Healthcare City in Johor Bahru, we will have significant additional capacity to cater to the healthcare needs of more patients.
“Subject to the relevant regulatory approvals, we hope to be able to commence work on our two expansion projects by the end of this year,” he said.
The Vantage Bay Healthcare City is where the 500-bed Iskandariah Hospital (or Thompson Iskandar) will be located. It will house other health-related infrastructure such as pharmacies, training centres, healthcare retail, medical suites and food and beverages outlets.
TMC recently also opened its retail pharmacy at the Vantage Bay Healthcare City.
The expansion at the Iskandariah Hospital will be a boost in medical tourism for TMC as this development is located only about a two minutes drive from the Johor Bahru Customs, Immigration, and Quarantine Complex checkpoint.
“Vantage Bay Healthcare City will provide an excellent location to deliver medical services, educate and train a new generation of healthcare professionals, conduct research and development, and support multi-generational living and facilities,” said Quek.
The Iskandariah Hospital is expected to be completed in 2019. TMC is also expanding its Kota Damansara hospital in two phases that will be completed in three years.
With these expansion in the pipeline, TMC will have another 900 beds that will come onstream once all of its projects are successfully implemented.
In the most recent financial quarter ended Feb 29, TMC saw its net profit grown by 12.7% year-on-year while revenue grew to RM31.4 mil from RM26.4 mil previously.
Notably in the current year-to-date (YTD) period, the company said it saw its operating expenses rising due to keen competition in retaining and recruiting experienced healthcare professionals to manage its expanded capacity.
In the YTD period, TMC saw its net profit nearly doubled to RM9.51 mil from RM5.94 mil previously. Capital returns for investors have been high, with gains of 22.5% in the YTD period on its shares.
/theSTAR 25-07-2016
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