• After dozens of acquisitions and organic projects at national level, as well as unprecedented investments in medical technology, MedLife announces a period of consolidation and streamlining of activity, with an emphasis on a gradual increase in margins, simultaneously with a medium-term improvement of the debt/ebitda.
• In the long term, MedLife will continue its strategy of expansion and acquisitions, the new funds accessed being a reserve in this sense.
• A Romanian company, listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, with a well-defined strategy, MedLife has demonstrated over time the ability to develop healthily, registering consecutive increases of over 20% in turnover over the last five years in a row.
• The systematic, non-opportunistic construction of the largest medical network in Romania brought significant advantages not only in terms of brand awareness and trust, but especially in terms of democratizing access to quality medical services at national level. MedLife is probably the most reliable private medical operator in Romania.

MedLife (BVB: M), the largest network of private medical services in Romania and the only company with Romanian capital among the top operators of private medical services listed on the Stock Exchange, announces the signing of the addendum regarding the increase of the credit limit by an additional amount of EUR 50 million, according to the approval received from shareholders during the 22 December 2023 EGSM, the total value of the borrowed capital thus reaching EUR 268.3 million.

The syndicate of banks that signed the credit limit increase consists of Banca Comercială Română, as coordinator, mandated as main arranger, documentation agent, facility and guarantee agent and financier, Raiffeisen Bank and BRD Groupe Societe Generale as main arrangers trustees and financiers and Banca Transilvania and ING Bank N.V. Amsterdam Bucharest Branch, as main arrangers and financiers.

“For almost 30 years we have been building the largest medical network in Romania, and for more than 10 years we have been a reliable partner for dozens of local entrepreneurs, MedLife proving excellent results both in terms of acquisition of new companies as well as regarding their related integration processes. There are still relevant opportunities in the market that would allow the Group to maintain the current trend of expansion and consolidation of the medical services market, while capturing additional profitability. Keeping a cautious approach, we want to evaluate these opportunities, the additional funds will be used mainly for the development of M&A processes, with a focus on acquisitions of profitable companies that will largely not affect profitability and debt indicators at Group level.

In parallel with the development plans, we maintain our current objective to gradually improve the profitability of the Group, as well as the debt ratio calculated as Net Debt / EBITDA. For this objective, we have the support of the multiple investments carried out in the last two years, which will deliver important results in the next period", said Mihai Marcu, President and CEO of MedLife Group.

"We are honored to continue the coordination of the syndicated loan extension for MedLife Group. We support MedLife's commitment to expanding access to quality services, new medical technologies and advanced treatments and believe in the strategic role it plays in strengthening Romania's healthcare system", said Raluca Orha, Syndication Coordinator BCR.

"Healthcare sector financing is essential for the medical infrastructure modernization and we are pleased to be a long-term partner for MedLife, one of the most innovative companies in Romania. The additional EUR 50 million syndicated loan will be used to support MedLife's expansion and acquisition strategy, which further translates into improving access to top-notch medical services and increasing the sector's ability to meet the population's healthcare needs", said Alina Cernat, Head of Consumer and Services Department, BCR.

After an intense period of acquisitions and organic development, there will be a period of consolidation and streamlining of activities at group level, with a strong focus towards medical services resilient to less favorable economic times.

In fact, just last year, the company invested in technology at an unprecedented level, opening at the end of the year a large hospital in Bucharest, Provita-Nord, modernized and gradually expanded the Medical Park hospital in Bucharest, invested in new clinics of radiotherapy in Brăila and Vâlcea, as well as in three new surgical robots in different locations in the country and started, for the first time in Central and Eastern Europe, the transport by drones of biological samples. Thus, MedLife marked its leading position in medical technology not only in Romania, but probably also in the region.

With close attention to market trends, MedLife will continue its commitment to invest in technology and strengthen the largest medical network with the goal of bringing the medicine of the future closer to patients. In parallel, the representatives of the Group say that they will pay more attention to the consolidation of the profitability margins and the gradual reduction of the Net Debt / EBITDA ratio in order to develop a balanced business.

”Looking carefully to 2024, we continue to focus on consolidating and optimizing the companies within the MedLife Group, given that this strategy proved its effectiveness last year. We are dedicated to continuing this healthy business trend with solid growth, entering a cycle of gradual increase in margins and a slightly lower level of debt in the next 12-18 months", Mihai Marcu also said.

MedLife ended 2023 with a consolidated pro-forma turnover of EUR 453 million, up 25% compared to the same period of the previous year, registering a double-digit advance for most business segments. At the same time, the company managed to gradually recover a large part of the margins lost as a result of the investments of the last years.

Currently, MedLife Group owns the strongest diagnostic and treatment network in Romania, with 700 own and partner locations nationwide and over 6.5 million unique patients that have used prevention, wellness, treatment and hospitalization services. At the same time, over 800,000 employees benefit from medical service subscriptions through MedLife subscriptions.

* This is a press release.