In 2014, part of the large operators will resume investments, but projects center on clinics, and not hospitals as it happened during the 2011-2012 period. But still, these plans are bringing a positive signal as few were the operators that dared to invest in 2013.
With the new projects, the companies will also hire new staff. For instance, MedLife could employ around 500 people, Regina Maria 150 and Anima has in view 20 new positions.
“The healthcare sector will further consolidate, we expect new small players to emerge on various well-delimited niches and several players to reorganize their activities. We will see if the minimum package of services covered by the state is to be introduced, but we do not expect this to happen in 2014,” said Fady Chreih, the chief executive officer of Regina Maria.
“We expect the healthcare sector to expand by 8%, a significant increase compared with other sectors and in line with what happened in 2013,” Chreih added.
The company plans to invest this year in cementing its position in the cities it already operates in.
Mihai Marcu, MedLife president, believes caution still pervades the entire market and most operators are shy of investments because of the general economic context and uncertainty in the medical sector.
The company held by Marcu family plans to open four large clinics in Galati, Constanta, Iasi and Craiova.
For 2014, MedLife also announced a change of strategy, focusing on higher profitability, instead of promotions and rising market share.
Robert Chitan, a promotion and development manager with Gral Medical, says the company’s investment budget is a multi-annual one, with EUR2 million being earmarked for 2014.
Gral Medical aims to expand its oncology hospital OncoFort, Which opened last year in Bucharest.
Anima will develop its network this year, both through greenfield investments and by acquiring smaller players, said Cristian Sas, the company’s chief executive officer.
Ponderas, a hospital opened in 2011, plans to invest around EUR1.5 million this year to complete its imagistic center. “After we underwent a rebranding process in 2013, this year we are focusing on a stronger niche position,” said Alina Ambrozie, chief executive officer with Ponderas, which was formerly known as Delta Hospital.
“We will not raise prices this year as the leu exchange rate is relatively stable and medical consumable suppliers will not modify prices,” Ambrozie also said.
On Romanian private healthcare market, there are hundreds of companies operating, and a ZF analysis showed that the largest 100 players cumulated revenue of more than 500 million euro in 2012.
(English version by Catalina Apostoiu)