![]() KPJ Healthcare Bhd is a leading private healthcare services provider, with a network of 20 specialist hospitals in Malaysia and two hospitals in Indonesia. It also operates a nursing college.
The company’s expansion strategy is to add at least two new hospitals each year. Upcoming hospitals this year include one in Klang, Selangor and another in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.
Analysts said demand for healthcare services is relatively recession-proof, but the stock is not cheap at over 20 times projected earnings after hitting a record high of RM4.95 last week.
KPJ’S net profit is projected to reach RM125 million in 2011, up from RM119 million in 2010. For 2012, analysts expect earnings to top RM130 million.
The company typically returns about half of its annual profit as dividends, and based on that assumption, dividend payouts over the next two years should range between 10 and 11.5 sen a share.
KPJ is selling three of its hospitals to Al-’Aqar REIT, and will receive some 56.6 million units worth RM64 million as part-payment for the transaction.
These units could be distributed to shareholders as dividends in specie, or be sold in the open market to raise cash.
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