KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 18): IHH Healthcare Bhd is expecting a bump in the number of foreign patients for its Turkish operations in the coming quarters, Kenanga Research said, following an estimated 20% decline in foreign patient volume in 1H2023.

The estimated decline, Kenanga said, was due to the Türkiye earthquake in February, festive holidays and presidential elections in the period.

Foreign patient revenue contribution in the first six months ended June 30, 2023 (1HFY2023) fell to 17%, lower than the 23% in 1HFY2022, Kenanga said in its research report on the healthcare group.

“The group is not perturbed by the lower contribution from Acibadem [Healthcare Group] in 2QFY2023 due to the festive holidays compounded by long week-end holidays as well as the presidential election.

“Viewed as a temporary blip, it expects patients to return in subsequent quarters as already seen starting from July.

“Specifically, the group aims to make medical tourism convenient and reliable for thousands of international patients who visit Türkiye every year. From the moment patients arrive at the Istanbul Airport until they return to their home country, the Acibadem team is by their side,” Kenanga said.

The research house has maintained its "outperform" call on IHH with a target price (TP) at RM7.00, citing its bright Malaysian prospects on rising affluence and an ageing population, pricing power due to inelastic healthcare demand and its commanding market position in Malaysia, Singapore, Türkiye and Greater China.  

On the Acibadem Healthcare Group, IHH said it has grown to 24 hospitals and 14 outpatient clinics in five countries including Türkiye, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Serbia and the Netherlands.  

Acibadem currently has its own internal project management that oversees all stages of a hospital’s development, from conceptualisation to completion, called Acibadem Project Management (APM).  

APM uses state-of-the-art technologies and collaborates with a team of experts and global solution partners that aim to create digital twins of healthcare structures using contemporary methods in design and implementation activities.  

Now functioning as an independent company, APM serves all investment areas and offers comprehensive project management services, including risk prediction and management at all stages of the project process, Kenanga said.

At the time of writing, IHH Healthcare Bhd share price decreased one sen or 0.17% to RM5.96, giving it a market capitalisation of RM52.4 billion.