Fortis Healthcare gains on plans to sell 64% stake in Dental Corporation

The announcement was made before market hours today, 17 December 2012.

Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was up 3.21 points, or 0.02% to 19,320.46

On BSE, 2.31 lakh shares were traded in the counter as against an average daily volume of 81,635 shares in the past one quarter.

The stock hit a high of Rs 119.50 and a low of Rs 112.10 so far during the day. The stock had hit a 52-week high of Rs 117.60 on 17 February 2012. The stock had hit a 52-week low of Rs 81 on 28 December 2011.

The stock had outperformed the market over the past one month till 14 December 2012, rising 6.29% compared with the Sensex's 3.75% rise. The scrip had also outperformed the market in past one quarter, advancing 13.07% as against Sensex's 4.62% gain.

The mid-cap company has an equity capital of Rs 405.20 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10.

Fortis Healthcare's subsidiary Fortis Healthcare International Pte on Sunday, 16 December 2012 announced its decision to sell its 64% stake in Dental Corporation Holdings (DC), Australia, to Bupa, for a consideration of Aus $270 million. The deal is expected to be completed in March 2013 subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals.

Malvinder Singh and Shivinder Singh, Executive Chairman and Executive Vice Chairman, Fortis Healthcare, said, "As a premier healthcare company we are quick to assess the competitive landscape, the opportunities for growth and emerging trends. We are decisive in our response and bold in our actions. The move is good for Fortis as it aligns the company with its current strategic priorities. This will help consolidate our presence as one of the fastest growing healthcare companies in the region."

Fortis had entered DC in Jan 2011 and has since added considerable value to the business growing it from 140 dental practices to 190 dental practices in Australia and New Zealand. The model however has remained confined to the two countries and in-spite of exploration and backing has found limited acceptance in other Fortis geographies, as originally envisaged.

The DC divestment is in line with Fortis's strategic decision to focus on healthcare in Asia including India and on developing, staffing, operating and managing healthcare assets that cater to complex clinical work at the higher end of the medical delivery value spectrum. The divestment will go towards further strengthening the Fortis balance sheet bringing it closer to its net debt to equity target ratio of 0.6x.

Fortis Healthcare reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 28.43 crore in Q2 September 2012, higher than net loss of Rs 12.59 crore in Q2 September 2011. Net sales rose 146.5% to Rs 1476.74 crore in Q2 September 2012 over Q2 September 2011.

Fortis Healthcare is a leading, integrated healthcare delivery provider in Asia. The

healthcare verticals of the company span diagnostics, primary care, day care specialty and

hospitals, with an asset base in 11 countries, many of which represent the fastest-growing

healthcare delivery markets in the world. Currently, the company operates its healthcare

delivery network in Australia, Canada, UAE, Hong Kong, India, Mauritius, Nepal, New

Zealand, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Vietnam with 76 hospitals, over 12,000 beds, over 600 primary care centres, 194 day care specialty centres, over 240 diagnostic centres and a talent pool of over 23,000 people.

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