An increase in patient numbers helped Burjeel’s network of hospitals record Dh253 million in H1-2024 net profit against Dh204 million a year ago. But the UAE company's overall profit for the period excluding one-offs and taxes totaled Dh238 million from Dh225 million.
Patient numbers during the six months topped 3 million, while Burjeel hired 76 more doctors across its network during this period.
The company, listed on ADX and currently pushing for higher exposure in Saudi Arabia, also hit double-digit increase on revenue, by 10 per cent to an impressive Dh2.4 billion. Going forward, the company says that focus on super-specialty care will be the ingredient for more growth.
“We made significant progress against key strategic and operational milestones, with continued investments in super-specialty areas such as oncology and organ transplantation and expansion of our regional network,’ said John Sunil, CEO.
“This has enabled the group to meet robust domestic and international demand, which will translate into higher asset utilization and patient yield.”
There was the opening of a cancer institute within Burjeel Medical City, which ‘consolidates one of the largest cancer care networks in the UAE’, the company said. There was also the opening of two specialized day care centers in Al Ain during the first-half.
“Burjeel is at the forefront of oncology treatment in the UAE, with ambitions to become a world leader in advanced cancer care,” said John. “Our multi-organ and bone marrow transplant programs are gaining momentum, demonstrating Burjeel’s strong capabilities - as well as considerable demand for complex care.”
Saudi ambitions
Burjeel made the first move into Saudi Arabia’s primary healthcare space with a joint venture featuring Keralty, a Colombian healthcare provider. The two will launch a ‘value-based’ healthcare model with specialized primary-care centers across the Kingdom, and ‘leveraging growing demand for affordable and high-quality healthcare’.
The UAE company also completed the opening of five PhysioTherabia centers in July, bringing the total to 22 branches in the Saudi market. And signed new collaboration agreements with the Saudi Athletics Federation and Malath Insurance Company.
"With the right mix of partners, we aim to provide cost-efficient and unique healthcare solutions based on prevention, detection, and health risk management through a network in highly populated regions," said Sunil on the strategy for Saudi Arabia.
"Burjeel is well-positioned to achieve strong growth and profitability. We believe that H2-2024 performance will be driven by the rapid ramp-up of high-growth assets and high-yield services, as well as fast growth in local and international patient footfall."
Burjeel said its H1-24 profit growth 'moderated' because of higher costs related to:
- The increase of Dh34 million in direct costs mainly related to investments in the medical oncology segment;
- The Dh14 million impact from the ramp-up of recently opened facilities;
- Investments of Dh28 million in the expansion of digital, international patient, and business development departments, and marketing costs of Dh19 million, driven by ongoing healthcare network expansion.
