revenues beat expectations, 4Q EBITDA marred by one-offs

One-off IPO and M&A-related costs were reflected negatively in MedLife’s reported 4Q16 results, depressing the closely watched EBITDA margin; however, excluding these costs, on an adjusted or pro forma basis, EBITDA was basically in line with our forecast of RON 19.8m. Strong top-line growth – 36% yoy in 4Q and 29% for FY16 – was, however, a positive surprise and suggests to us that profitability can improve throughout 2017E as the impact of higher 4Q15/1H16 employee costs works through the figures, and synergies on recent acquisitions flow to the bottom line (we note that management is also executing plans so these synergies are shared more fairly with equity holders). Management admits that extracting these economies of scale takes time and, while achieving pre-2016 profitability is a key factor for investors, the 4Q results indicate that targeted earnings can be achieved in the meantime through better-than expected top-line growth Achieving the benefits of scale, together with consolidating the Romanian healthcare market, are the key points of our investments thesis for the company. To date, we can see MedLife working towards these goals, and we remain BUYers of the stock.