Following the hospital group’s record-breaking full-year sales and profit, Burjeel Holdings, based in the United Arab Emirates, is speeding up plans to go public, according to Indian billionaire Shamsheer Vayalil.
According to a statement released on Thursday, Burjeel Holdings, which runs 16 hospitals, 23 medical facilities, and 15 pharmacies in the UAE and Oman, achieved record full-year 2021 sales of 3.35 billion UAE dirhams ($912m) and a profit for the year of 234 million UAE dirhams.
In the 12 months leading up to December 31 of the previous year, Burjeel claimed to have reported EBITDA (profits before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) of 779 million UAE dirhams.
The data, which were audited by EY, provide the first glimpse into the operation of the hospital network that Vayalil, a radiologist who began with a single facility in 2007, owns in its whole.
One of the largest private hospitals in the nation, Burjeel Medical City in Abu Dhabi, is part of the portfolio of assets for Burjeel, a spinoff of his VPS Healthcare company that today employs over 1,200 doctors.
“We are looking at the next phase of growth,” As the possible listing plans take shape, Vayalil told CNBC.
Burjeel has chosen JP Morgan, Emirates NBD, EFG-Hermes, and Dubai Islamic Bank to work together as joint worldwide coordinators for the listing, which might happen this year and list on the Abu Dhabi stock exchange.
Burjeel stated that negotiations for a deal were still in progress and that specifics on the scope of the offer and its value were being considered. There has not yet been a definitive choice made.
A Health Check
Following the bankruptcy of NMC Health, formerly hailed as the largest private healthcare provider in the UAE, any listing will serve as an important test of investor interest in the industry. NMC was the first firm from Abu Dhabi to trade on the London Stock Exchange; however, after an alleged fraud that allegedly exposed billions in hidden debts, the company delisted in April 2020 and underwent a restructuring.
EY was sued by NMC administrators for allegedly doing an inadequate audit of the company before to its collapse. Any wrongdoing by EY is denied.
Amid a boom in Middle Eastern initial public offerings, which has seen Abu Dhabi and Dubai list a number of government entities this year, talk of a future listing is rife in the Emirates. If Burjeel Holdings were to successfully list, it would be the first privately held company to do so during the current government listing wave, which would be a unique milestone.
“The macroeconomics for us are right, and unless something changes drastically that is not in our hands, we feel very positive about what we are doing, and we are confident that our story is right,” Vayalil said.
The Targeting Scale
“Healthcare is a basic need, and that need is going to grow,” Vayalil referred to Burjeel Holdings as “suited for scale” and noted that operations under its five brands, which include Burjeel Hospitals, Medeor Hospital, LLH Hospital, Lifecare Hospital, and Tajmeel — a medical centre operator — target a variety of socio-economic categories.
Vayalil stated that he intends to concentrate on service expansion in the UAE, where Burjeel already has a 17 percent market share for inpatients, as well as on what he views as an increasing need for medical tourism in the nation.
“What we have to build is more trust for people to believe that this place can offer what is available anywhere in the world,” Vayalil said. “If we can stop or reduce people traveling about for treatment, that is one parameter that I focus on,” he added.
