NMC Health Plc UPDATE ON PROPOSED ACQUISITION OF AL ZAHRA (3689Y)

TIDMNMC

RNS Number : 3689Y

NMC Health Plc

02 March 2017

2 March 2017

NMC HEALTH PLC PROVIDES UPDATE ON PROPOSED ACQUISITION OF THE AL ZAHRA HOSPITAL

NMC Health plc (LSE: NMC) ('NMC' or the 'Company'), the leading integrated private healthcare provider operating across the United Arab Emirates and Gulf Cooperation Council region (the 'UAE' and 'GCC', respectively), today provides an update on the proposed acquisition of the Al Zahra Hospital in Sharjah, one of the largest private hospitals in the UAE, as announced on 14 December 2016. In line with previous guidance, NMC confirms that the completion process of the proposed acquisition of the Al Zahra Hospital is on-track to complete before the end of March 2017. Since the start of 2017, the Al Zahra Hospital has been trading ahead of management expectations.

Dr. B.R. Shetty, Chief Executive Officer & Executive Vice-Chairman of NMC, commented:

"I am pleased to confirm that we are on-track to complete the proposed acquisition of the Al Zahra Hospital in the first quarter of this year, representing another major step in strengthening our position as the leading integrated healthcare operator in the UAE and GCC region. The proposed acquisition is fully in line with our strategy and demonstrates our focus on delivering long-term growth of our strategic and competitive advantages to sustainably enhance shareholder returns."

Prasanth Manghat, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of NMC, commented:

"The acquisition of Al Zahra Hospital, one of the leading and most reputable private hospitals in Sharjah and across the UAE, is strategically very significant for NMC. This attractive and complementary deal is expected to deliver significant benefits for patients and value for shareholders as we continue to expand our top-in-class offering, track record and brand in the region."

Al Zahra Hospital - one of the largest private hospitals in the UAE, accelerates NMC's presence in growing Sharjah healthcare market

The Al Zahra Hospital in Sharjah is one of the largest private hospitals in the UAE, operating 137 active inpatient beds, serving approximately 400,000 outpatients and 23,000 inpatient bed days per year. This asset would be difficult to replicate and considerably expands NMC's capacity in the region.

The proposed acquisition complements NMC's existing network of seven out-patient medical centres in Sharjah, the third most populous emirate in the UAE, and further strengthens its position as the largest private healthcare provider in the UAE and GCC region.

In recent years, the Al Zahra Hospital's former owners, Gulf Medical Projects Company, have invested significantly in the Al Zahra Hospital, including the addition of a new 17 storey block and three new operating theatres, which should help to drive revenue growth over the medium and longer term as the additional capacity drives increased patient numbers. Moreover, in the future NMC believes that there is potential to further expand capacity at the Al Zahra Hospital to approximately 200 beds with limited incremental investment required.

As previously announced, NMC has identified approximately US$6.5 million of annual cost synergy benefits from the second year post completion, around 65% of which should be realised in the first 12 months after completion, and believes that there are a number of other operational and synergistic benefits that will accrue over the medium term.

The proposed acquisition is expected to be earnings enhancing for NMC shareholders in the first full year following completion.

- ENDS -

Enquiries:

NMC Health plc

Prasanth Manghat, Deputy Chief Executive Officer

[phone]

Suresh Krishnamoorthy, Chief Financial Officer

[phone]

Roy Cherry, Head of Strategy & IR

[phone]

Media:

FTI Consulting, London

Matthew Cole

[phone]

FTI Consulting, Gulf

Shane Dolan

[phone]

About NMC Health

NMC Health is the leading private sector healthcare operator in the United Arab Emirates, with a nation-wide network of hospitals and operations in the country since 1975. The company currently operates or manages eight hospitals, two day-care patient centres, nine medical centres and fifteen pharmacies. In addition, NMC owns and operates Clinica Eugin in Barcelona, Spain - one of the leading fertility treatment centres globally. NMC also owns 51 per cent. shareholding in Fakih IVF Group, the Middle East market leader for in-vitro fertilisation ("IVF") services. Moreover, NMC also owns and operates Americare Group, the leading home care provider in the UAE as well as ProVita, the pioneering provider of long-term medical care, also in the UAE. The enlarged company received almost 3.2 million patients in 2015. NMC is also a leading UAE supplier of products and consumables across several key market segments, with the major contribution coming from healthcare related products. The company reported revenues of US$880.9 million for the year ended 31 December 2015.

In April 2012 NMC was listed on the Premium Segment of the London Stock Exchange. NMC is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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March 02, 2017 06:56 ET (11:56 GMT)