Dorin Preda, Executive Director, MedLife Group: We aim to offer our patients the best solutions for their needs

Recognized as a True Leader in the Healthcare sector at the recent True Leaders Awards Gala 2022, organized by ICAP CRIF & Business Review Magazine, MedLife SA registered an EBITDA of RON 139,5 million in 2021, a net turnover of RON 601,5 million, and a growth in the number of employees of almost 9 percent compared to 2020. To find out more about the company’s success story and what the True Leader recognition means, Business Review sat down with Dorin Preda, Executive Director at MedLife Group.

How would you summarize 2022 for your company and what were the main achievements and accomplishments which brought you the recognition as the most profitable company in the industry you are representing & also a major player of the economy?

2022 has been an intense year. After two years of pandemic, when we were hoping for a period of stability, a series of other factors such as war, inflation, and energy crisis appeared, putting additional pressure on the economic development, with important implications not only at national level, but also worldwide. However, this unstable economic and social context caught us in a moment when we are in a good position, both from business strategy and operational point of view.

Thus, we managed to adapt our development objectives and we continued our expansion strategy, both through organic projects and strategic acquisitions. 2022 meant for MedLife an accelerated national expansion, with 7 new units opened and not less than 13 major acquisitions completed in the first nine months of the year. We have acquired businesses with integrated medical services that follow our model, as well as niche businesses in oncology, ophthalmology and wellness. Together we aim to offer our patients the best solutions for their needs.

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The fact that, despite this year’s challenges, we have managed to focus all our efforts on developing customized solutions, for our almost 800,000 subscribers but also for the millions of patients who visited MedLife’s 700 units, is certainly one of the greatest achievements of this year.

This year’s intense activity reflects MedLife’s profile: a Romanian company, created by a group of entrepreneurs, listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, which for almost three decades has grown steadily alongside Romanian doctors and Romanian management, together managing to contribute to a better future, both at the level of the healthcare system and the local economy.

What are your plans for the next year and what will you do in order to retain the True Leaders Award for another year?

Although we expect a difficult year from the economic perspective, we are ready anytime to make decisions based on the context and market trends. We will continue to invest in strengthening MedLife’s network in the medium and long term, both nationally and regionally, where we have already made one acquisition in 2019 and where we continue to prospect, with the ambition of becoming a strong regional player in the following years. In the short term, after an intense activity in acquisitions these recent months, there will certainly follow a period of settlement, consolidation and integration of the acquired companies into the Group.

The needs of our patients will continue to govern our business decisions. Beyond development, we will continue to invest in projects impacting the local community, technology, and infrastructure. Digitization remains an important pillar next year as well. We aim to keep up with the trends and with the needs and requirements of the patient of the future, who is looking for modern solutions for any problem. We focus on the latest technologies and innovations and we will continue to develop programs that facilitate fast and efficient patient access to our services.

What is the main differential of MedLife on the Romanian market?

MedLife stands out today through the largest network of clinics, one of the largest networks of medical laboratories, general and specialized hospitals and the largest corporate customer base for medical subscriptions in the country. It is also one of the largest players in private healthcare in Central and Eastern Europe in terms of sales.

Moreover, MedLife is in a privileged position from the capital point of view, given that the top 3 competitors on the local market are owned by private equity funds. Being a Romanian company with a tradition, founded by a group of Romanian doctors almost three decades ago, MedLife chose to be listed on the Romanian Stock Exchange, being a model of listings on the local capital market. It has opened horizons and through the corporate governance it has implemented, it has inspired other local companies to start on this path and help the development of the Romanian capital and economy.

At the same time, the extraordinary ability to adapt, the entrepreneurial spirit and powerful development make the difference. The fact that MedLife has become an aggregator of entrepreneurial companies, having up to now more than 45 successful acquisitions processes, is unique in the Romanian business community. We are, by far, the most successful Romanian company in acquisitions, with our own dedicated M&A division, and we are extremely proud to be a large family of Romanian entrepreneurs.