[ET Net News Agency, 9 September 2019] Citi Research lowered its target price for
Wenzhou Kangning Hospital (02120) to HK$34 from HK$48 and maintained its "buy" rating.
The research house said Kangning's blended GM was down to 24.3% from 36.3% in 1H 2018 on
(1) lower bed utilization rate of newly opened hospitals in 2018, (2) impact from reform
of the medical insurance payment methods; (3) increased labor cost, and (4) declined drug
prices.
Citi adjusted revenue and gross margin downward in 2019/20/21 to reflect budgeting
pressure from medical insurance reimbursement. Citi remains long term positive on private
specialty hospitals with a sound business model and optimized operational management. (KL)