Romgermed postpones expansion into Bulgaria and Moldova; focuses on local market
Private healthcare group Romgermed postponed its plans to extend to the Republic of Moldova and Bulgaria, due to the instability in the region, but will continue the expansion on the local market, where it will open several laboratories and finalize the private hospital in Bucharest next year.
“We consider Moldova and Bulgaria to be markets that are still expanding, still maturing – patients are becoming more selective in terms of quality and we offer a quality-service based on our years of experience, investments in new specialists and new equipment. (…) Given the instability generated by the situation in Ukraine and EU’s economic stagnation, our optimism is more tempered. Expanding a business, entering a new market need first and foremost stability, safety, and the general view now is dominated by uncertainty”, according to Ciprian Nicoara, general director of Romgermed.
According to the same source, expansion plans will be picked back up when tensions in the area will dissipate and the business climate will be more secure.
The decision to postpone expansion will not affect the group’s financial evolution and local perspectives remain positive.
“We will direct these funds to consolidating our activities on the national market. For the group we anticipate that our internal market evolution will be positive this year”, Nicoara explained.
In 2015, Romgermed will extend its lab network to reach a national coverage of 50 percent and it will also finish its work on a private hospital in Bucharest, in an investment worth EUR 50 million.
As far as results are concerned, Romgermed estimates a 15 percent increase in turnover compared with 2013 when it posted EUR 21 million.