Mouwasat MD says outpatient, pharmaceuticals segments most affected by COVID-19

Mouwasat Medical Services Co.’s managing director, Mohammed Al Saleem, said that the outpatient segment was most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic as it fell by 17%, while the pharmaceuticals segment fell by 18%.

In an interview with CNBC Arabia, Al Saleem said that the inpatients segment, however, saw an increase, supported by the increased demand during the period, as the Ministry of Health transferred patients to private hospitals, thus contributing to revenue growth.

Since the beginning of 2020, the company has focused on expanding into sub-specialties including nuclear medicine, interventional radiology, diabetes treatment center, and hematology, as the revenue of these specialties have grown during the past two quarters.

Mouwasat owns a flexible operating system which balances between the available capacity and redistributing it among the company’s six hospitals within the Kingdom, depending on the change in demand from a region to another.

The managing director explained that the cost reduction was in several items, including labor, general and administrative expenses and some other items, which led to controlling expenses in Q2 amounting to 9%.

Al Saleem said that there was a decrease in the cost of financing by nearly SAR 2.1 million, while the company's outstanding loans amounted to SAR 740 million by the end of June.

He also pointed out that the company was committed to repayment and none of its payments were rescheduled, as the cash flows were running smoothly.

The number of beds in Mouwasat hospitals reached 1,200 bed, Al Saleem said, indicating that 30 beds were added in the intensive care department based on the directions of the Ministry of Health and in response to the market needs.

He confirmed that that the company’s ongoing projects will increase the number of beds to 1,400.

Mouwasat reported a 13% rise year-on-year (YoY) in net profit after Zakat and tax to SAR 223.8 million in H1 2020, while the second quarter net profit jumped 28% YoY to SAR 115.7 million, according to data compiled by Argaam.