• Sales in 2018 up 38% to € 1.7 billion, EBIT increase of 45% to € 110 million
• Takeover of 38 rehabilitation and care facilities in Germany
• Further strengthening of high-end services for hospitals through corporate acquisitions
• New hospital projects in Angola, China, Indonesia, Nicaragua, Oman and Trinidad-Tobago
• Business volume of € 2.2 billion, more than 27,000 employees
• Record orders on hand of € 2.4 billion
• Rise in the share generated by the service business from 51% to 58%
• Newly renovated and expanded headquarters in Vienna

Vienna – In 2018, the internationally leading healthcare provider VAMED AG took over 38 healthcare facilities in Germany with a focus on rehabilitation and care, and further strengthened its offering for high-end services based on additional acquisitions. At the same time, VAMED sales also increased organically by 17%. On balance, consolidated sales in 2018 climbed 38% year-on-year to € 1.7 billion, whereas the operating result (EBIT) rose 45% to € 110 million. This comprises the highest growth achieved in the company’s history, and the 18th time in a row the company has recorded record results.      

Dr. Ernst Wastler, CEO of VAMED AG: “2018 marked a milestone in VAMED’s business development. The rise of VAMED to become one of Europe’s leading rehabilitation providers and our new international hospital projects have led to a significant leap in growth for us. We have implemented more than 900 healthcare projects in 88 countries up until now. The strong level of orders on hand in the project business, the increasing importance of our services and our unique value chain will continue to ensure further growth in the future.”

Including all operations for which the company bears management responsibility, VAMED generated a total business volume of € 2.2 billion in 2018. VAMED now ranks among the leading rehabilitation providers in Europe with a portfolio of 67 rehabilitation and care facilities. The number of employees rose from 18,000 to more than 27,000 in 2018. VAMED employs a staff of about 6,300 people in Austria, 700 of whom work at Group headquarters in Vienna which were redesigned and significantly expanded within the context of the company’s growth. 

New international hospital projects

VAMED develops, plans, builds and operates facilities in all areas of healthcare, and also enables the financing of new projects thanks to its financial engineering - from prevention and acute medicine to rehabilitation and care.  

VAMED acquired new hospital project orders in 2018, for example from Angola, China, Indonesia, Nicaragua, Oman and Trinidad-Tobago. The order intake in the project business totaled € 1.2 billion, a rise of 12% from the record level of the previous year. Orders on hand as at the end of the year were up 13% year-on-year to a new all-time high of € 2.4 billion. 

In the field of high-end services, VAMED acquired the British medical technology specialist Avensys UK Ltd. (Kidderminster) and the German firm Medserv-CE GmbH Clinical Engineering (Sulzbach/Saar). The share of the service business as a proportion of VAMED’s total sales climbed from 51% to 58% due to corporate acquisitions, the takeover of German rehabilitation and care facilities and further organic growth. In its capacity as a technical service provider, VAMED is now in charge of 840 healthcare facilities across the globe with about 193,000 beds.

Rehabilitation and care for all indications – Expansion of rehabilitation in Austria

The rehabilitation and care facilities in Germany acquired effective July 1, 2018 complement VAMED’s existing offering in neurology, orthopedics, oncology, psychosomatic medicine, cardiology and geriatrics. Moreover, the new VAMED facilities are leaders in child and adolescent early neurological rehabilitation and operate competence centers for the increasingly important indications of hearing loss, tinnitus and vertigo. VAMED’s offering covers all indications in rehabilitation.

VAMED had already previously featured a unique health competence in rehabilitation and care as a result of its positioning as the leading rehabilitation provider in Austria, Switzerland and the Czech Republic. VAMED further expanded its rehabilitation offering in Austria in 2018, and opened the Leuwaldhof, the first family-oriented pediatric rehabilitation facility for children and adolescents with cancer and metabolic diseases in St. Veit im Pongau. It represents the 25th Public Private Partnership (PPP) project implemented by VAMED.

Major € 1.7 billion contract order in Germany is moving forward

VAMED is recognized as a pioneer for PPP projects in healthcare. The largest PPP project implemented to date is currently being constructed in Germany. In collaboration with its project partners, VAMED is building the University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein (UKSH) in Kiel and Lübeck, comprising the new university medical center of the 21st century.

The contract is conceived as a life cycle project, and in addition to putting the facility into operation also encompasses facility management and reinvestments until the year 2044. Total project volume amounts to € 1.7 billion.

Acquisition of a training facility in the Czech Republic – New robot-supported rehabilitation competence center in Switzerland

VAMED Mediterra took over a private school of nursing in Melnik, Czech Republic in 2018. VAMED plans to double the current number of 100 training places over the next four years.  

In Switzerland, VAMED’s Zihlschlacht Rehabilitation Clinic cooperated with ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences to establish a new training, education and development center called Revigo for robot-supported rehabilitation.

On balance, VAMED employs approx. 10,000 doctors, therapists and nurses in its healthcare facilities. VAMED has linked the comprehensive medical expertise of its doctors by setting up an International Medical Board.

VAMED Vitality World further expands its market position

VAMED is also on a growth path with VAMED Vitality World, the Austrian market leader in the operation of thermal spas and health resorts. The number of admission tickets to the facilities increased to more than 3.2 million in 2018. VAMED Vitality World further expanded its market position, in particular thanks to new premium offers and a strong increase in visitors to the thermal spa in Vienna.

Overview of key VAMED AG financial indicators in 2018

Please address inquiries to:

Prok. Mag. Ludwig Bichler, MBA
Konzernsprecher VAMED AG        
E-Mail: presse@vamed.com
Tel.: +43 1 60127 610
www.vamed.com