THE holding firm of a leading telecommunication company in the country has obtained control of a major hospital in Negros Occidental province.
In a statement, Metro Pacific Investments Corp. said it has acquired Riverside Medical Center, Inc. (RMCI) in Bacolod City.
The firm said it signed a share purchase agreement with Torre Hermanos Agro-Industrial Enterprises, Inc. to acquire a 51% shareholding in RMCI.
This is the fourth hospital acquired by Metro Pacific which has begun its forays in the medical services industry.
Metro Pacific is the Philippine unit of Hong Kong’s First Pacific Co. Ltd., part owner of Philippine Long Distance Telephone (PLDT) Co.
RMCI, also known as the Dr. Pablo O. Torre Memorial Hospital, started as an eight-bed clinic in 1954.
The hospital later expanded into a 336-bed, level 4 hospital and offered services in obstetrics and gynecology, medicine, orthopedics, ear, nose, and throat, pediatrics, emergency medicine, pathology, physical medicine and rehabilitation, imaging sciences, anesthesia, surgery and opthalmology.
“This investment represents a vital step in realizing Metro Pacific’s vision of creating the first nationwide chain of hospitals that will help deliver better quality health care services to our countrymen,” the firm said.
As of May 31, 2009, RMCI reported consolidated revenues of P940 million, assets of P911 million, liabilities of P553 million, and equity of P358 million. The hospital also owns College, Inc., a nursing school with 2,800 students.
Aside from RMCI, the hospital group of Metro Pacific has a capacity of more than 1,300 beds. The group includes the Makati Medical Center and Cardinal Santos Medical Center in Metro Manila, and the Davao Doctors Hospital in Davao City.
Early this year, Metro Pacific Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said the firm was looking at buying two to three hospitals this year, closing in on a target 5,000 beds to achieve economies of scale.
At end-2009, the health care network’s average occupancy rates went up to 70% from 68% the previous year.
The health care group accounted P174 million or 5% of Metro Pacific’s income last year. The group’s net income went up by half to P530 million, as revenues went up by a third to P5.52 billion.
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