15. January 2020 | 07:42 CET
Fresenius Peer: Will the analysts' favorite M1 Kliniken 2020 take off?
Besides Fresenius, M1 Klinken AG is one of the few listed clinic operators in Germany. Unlike the clinic group, M1 has specialised in a lucrative niche: the beauty market. More and more people are helping with beauty and are generating billions in sales in the industry. In just a few years, M1 has become the market leader for beauty medicine in Germany. A growth rate of 30% is also targeted for the future. Foreign business is increasingly becoming the growth driver. After a continuous price increase between 2016 and 2018, the share has consolidated in 2019. But operationally things are still running smoothly. Analysts see more than 50% upside potential.
time to read: 1 minutes by Mario Hose
All analysts convinced of growth course
All analysts - including Commerzbank and Bankhaus Metzler - are convinced that M1 Kliniken will continue to grow at double-digit rates in the coming years and recommend the share as a buy. Five analysts expect M1 Kliniken to break through the EUR 100 million revenue barrier this year (2018: EUR 65 million). The average expectation for net income in 2020 is EUR 9.8 million (2018: EUR 6.6 million).
Sales and profit growth foreseeable
M1 has already laid the foundation for further revenue and profit growth in the current year. In 2019, 12 new specialist centres were opened, significantly more than in previous years (average 6 p.a.). This means that the Group now operates 36 outpatient centres for aesthetic medicine. With Dortmund, Bielefeld, Rostock, Stuttgart II and Frankfurt (M1 Dental), M1 has increased the number of locations in Germany by 5 to 28.
In addition, larger premises were moved into Hamburg and Hanover. At the same time, M1 is specifically increasing the range of treatments offered in the existing specialist centres. For example, aesthetic laser treatments, such as hair removal, are now offered at 20 beauty locations under the "M1 Laser" brand.
Internationalization as growth driver
International expansion was added as an additional growth driver last year. After the first international "M1 Med Beauty" specialist centre for aesthetic medicine was opened in Vienna in December 2018, 7 foreign locations have been added in recent months. In addition to a further location in Austria (Linz), the company has successfully entered the markets in the Netherlands (Amsterdam, Rotterdam), Switzerland (Zurich) and Australia (Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane).
Project pipeline gives reason to expect dynamic start to 2020
In addition, the project development for 10 further specialist centres - 5 of them in Great Britain alone - has been largely completed. The M1 Group is thus fully on track to achieve its goal: 50 specialist beauty centres by the end of 2020. M1 has already secured the necessary financing in September 2018 through a capital increase.
