SINGAPORE: Mainboard-listed Thomson Medical Group said on Wednesday (Feb 27) that it returned to profit in 2018, and unveiled a series of plans to drive growth through an integrated service platform at Orchard Road and its first major digital foray.
Full-year net profit was S$4.06 million, compared with a loss of S$19.3 million in the previous year. The turnaround was driven by the group’s acquisition of the healthcare business in 2018, it said.
Advertisement“The group’s strong return to profitability comes as we mark the 40th anniversary of the founding of Thomson Medical. We have much cause to celebrate and be optimistic as we look towards the future of the group,” said Thomson Medical Group chairman Ng Ser Miang.
The group - which is now a pure healthcare platform following the divestment of the real estate business in January 2019 – saw healthcare revenue increase 7.5 per cent to S$215.6 million last year.
The growth was driven by higher patient volume, new clinics and larger average bill sizes at the group’s two hospitals - Thomson Medical Centre in Singapore and Thomson Hospital Kota Damansara in Malaysia.
“We have been seeing year-on-year increases in revenue and patient loads despite the highly competitive healthcare landscape and sluggish overall economy,” said Mr Ng.
AdvertisementAdvertisementHe added that the group is focused on developing and growing its healthcare business, and diversifying its range of specialty services and regional footprint to achieve its “vision of becoming a Pan-Asian Health System of Choice”.
NEW INITIATIVES TO DRIVE GROWTH
At the group’s results briefing, Group CEO Roy Quek unveiled several new initiatives and investments to drive growth, while also providing updates on existing developmental projects.
Mr Quek revealed plans for Thomson Medical’s first integrated service platform, Nodal Centre, at Paragon Medical Centre. The Nodal Centre will house the group’s new flagships for Thomson Wellth Clinic, Thomson Fertility Centre, Thomson O&G and Thomson TCM.
“The concept of the Nodal Centre is to bring complementary services together in a single location to enable us to provide one-stop services to make it more convenient for our patrons,” said Mr Quek.
“Thomson Medical Group operates about 35 specialist clinics and centres across the island; there is scope for us to develop more Nodal Centres as we co-locate more of our specialist services to better serve our patrons,” he added.
Mr Quek also touched on the group’s newly acquired SmartParents digital platform, its first major foray into the digital space.
“SmartParents is a 100,000-strong community and it represents a valuable platform for the group to create an even bigger community of parents, parents-to-be, wannabe-parents and just about anyone else interested in parenting matters, products and services,” said Mr Quek.
REGIONAL FOOTPRINT
In Malaysia, the new wing at Thomson Hospital in Kota Damansara is progressing on schedule, said Mr Quek, with completed due by end-2020.
Piling works have commenced for the Thomson Iskandar Medical Hub project in Vantage Bay, Johor Bahru, and is on target to be completed by the end of the third quarter this year. Construction that will take place thereafter is projected to be completed by 2023.
When completed, the two projects are expected to add 900 beds to the 205 the group currently operates in Kota Damansara.
Thomson Medical Group also recently opened its first Thomson TCM centre in Kuala Lumpur and plans are underway to expand two of its TMC Fertility Centres in the Klang Valley.
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