Mouwasat mulls establishment, acquisition of new projects; sees better performance in H2 2022: MD

Mohammed Al-Saleem,CEO of Mouwasat Medical Services Co.

Mouwasat Medical Services Co. is studying several projects, as it plans to establish or acquire hospitals in major and remote cities across the Kingdom, Managing Director, Mohammed Al-Saleem, told Argaam.

Construction work at Mouwasat’s hospital in Yanbu city has started. The company completed the required due diligence to acquire 51% of Jeddah Doctors Co., with the right of management and operation. On June 29, the healthcare services provider signed an agreement to buy this stake in a deal worth SAR 102 million. Meanwhile, Mouwasat is still in the due diligence process to buy 100% Egypt's Al-Marasem International Hospital, Al-Saleem added.

“We previously announced a new project in the east of Riyadh. It will be the company’s hospital in Riyadh. We’ll soon reveal more details about the project’s size after obtaining preliminary approvals for construction,” the managing director added.
 

Moreover, Al-Saleem expected the finalized projects to enhance Mouwasat’s capacity by 400 beds during the second half of this year.
 

Elsewhere, he added that Mouwasat’s Q2 2022 net profit was weighed by the coincidence of the holy month of Ramadan and Eid Al-Fitr during that period. In addition, the company was hit by increased operating expenses of its new hospital in Madinah. Al-Saleem also expected the company to demonstrate better performance in the next two quarters.
 

The financing cost in the company’s debt portfolio declined by almost SAR 2 million in the first six months of 2022, compared to the same period of last year.

This was attributed to a continued decline in Mouwasat’s debt balance on the repayment of loan installments. He pointed to a possible increase in the cost of finance during the coming quarters amid higher SAIBOR rates.
 

“This figure is not a major item in the items of cost. In addition, the company’s hedging always exceeds SAIBOR rates,” Al-Saleem concluded.