KUALA LUMPUR: TMC Life Sciences Bhd, which is controlled by Singapore billionaire Peter Lim, looks to spend up to RM300 million to expand the facilities at its flagship Tropicana Medical Centre in Kota Damansara, Petaling Jaya.

“The expansion plans for Tropicana Medical Centre is to meet the growing demand from the surrounding community and the Klang Valley.

“We look forward to serving our patients better with improved and more comprehensive services and facilities when the expansion plan is carried out,” said TMC Life chairman Professor Emeritus Datuk Dr Khalid Abdul Kadir in a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday.

According to TMC Life (fundamental score: 2.2; valuation score: 0.3), the first phase of the expansion is expected to cost RM250 million to RM300 million.

Subject to regulatory approval, this will involve the construction of a new building to house 180 inpatient beds, 128,000 sq ft of specialist outpatient clinics, five additional operating theatres, and 170,000 sq ft of commercial/retail space.

The first phase is expected to commence in the first half of 2016 and it will take approximately four years to complete.

Subsequently, TMC Life is looking to expand on the balance of its land in Kota Damansara and has envisaged that the entire integrated healthcare campus will host 550 acute hospital beds and another 100 long-stay beds or serviced apartments to serve patients’ families and patients who need some form of care post-discharge from the acute general hospital.

“Specialist outpatient clinics or suites will occupy a total floor area of 300,000 to 400,000 sq ft.

“The entire integrated healthcare campus will serve not just patients from the Klang Valley, but also patients from the whole of Malaysia and the region,” it said.

TMC Life intends to finance the first phase of the expansion via existing cash and bank balances and surplus of cash from existing operations, which would not impact the group’s gearing.

It added that cash and bank balances stood at RM190.8 million as at Dec 31, 2014, after the conversion of 397.1 million warrants which netted the conversion proceeds of RM158.9 million.

TMC Life shares closed flat yesterday at 58.5 sen for a market capitalisation of RM701.72 million.
 

The Edge Research’s fundamental score reflects a company’s profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on January 15, 2015.