By Alexander Marrow
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian private health clinic operator European Medical Centre (EMC) is always ready to turn to capital markets for funds and would be attractive to investors, its chief executive told Reuters.
Last week, financial market sources had told Reuters the company was considering an initial public offering as soon as this summer.
CEO Andrei Yanovsky declined to comment on whether EMC was preparing for an IPO, which sources last Thursday said could raise around $500 million. He said his job was to ensure the company was always on the right track and ready to seek external borrowing.
“The task from the shareholders still stands before me as CEO to be prepared every day in terms of results and corporate governance to enter the capital market,” Yanovsky told Reuters.
“With the results we have, we should clearly be attractive for any type of investor,” Yanovsky said.
Yanovsky has previously suggested an IPO might be imminent. He floated the idea of a possible share listing in London or Moscow in 2018, suggesting the private healthcare industry was immune from Russia’s wider economic woes.
Last year, Yanovsky said EMC, owned by businessman Igor Shilov, was ready to go public at any time, depending on market conditions.
EMC reported revenue of 21.3 billion roubles ($290 million) last year, with a compound annual growth rate for 2018-20 of 18%.
After taking an initial hit from the COVID-19 pandemic, EMC increased its customer numbers by 23% overall in 2020 and average bills paid by customers rose as it added new services, Yanovsky said.
EMC has no serious capex plans beyond maintenance in the next three to five years, he added, having invested around 440 million euros ($537 million) since 2008.
EMC would be the second Russian company from the sector to float, after women’s health specialist MDMG listed in London in 2012.
Conglomerate Sistema in April said the Medsi chain of medical clinics was among its portfolio companies best suited to a public offering.
($1 = 73.5400 roubles)
($1 = 0.8189 euros)
(Editing by Jane Merriman)
