Annual Report 2005 - Parkway Pantai

Chairman’s Letter to ShareholdersRichard SeowChairmanDear Shareholders,I am delighted to come on board as Parkway’s Chairman asyour company stands poised for its next phase of growth.Over the past few years, you have witnessed Parkway’sdedicated focus on its core healthcare business,the establishment of our Centres of Excellence, newacquisitions, regional healthcare joint ventures and thecontinued divestment of non-core assets. Today, thesestrategies are starting to show returns. In addition, we haveseen a 39% increase in foreign patients visiting our facilitiesin Singapore over the last 2 years. We are well positioned toachieve our objective of being the premier private healthcareprovider of choice in the region.Our 2005 fi nancial results were positive and a goodimprovement from the previous year. Revenue of $549.0million and net profi t of $62.0 million brought Parkway’searnings to a record high. Our improvement in Return onEquity to 15% in 2005 indicates positive momentum inproviding better returns on our capital employed. We willcontinue to seek more opportunities to further improve keyaspects of our fi nancial performance.A signifi cant milestone for this year was the entryof Newbridge Capital and Associates as signifi cantshareholders of the Company. The acquisition of a 26%stake in Parkway Holdings lends testimony to the uniquehealthcare platform that Parkway has built in Asia.Newbridge is a proven healthcare investor and bringsconsiderable international healthcare experience, fi nancialsavvy and a global network of expertise to the Parkwayequation. I am confi dent that the entry of Newbridge willprovide the impetus for further growth for Parkway.In September 2005, we expanded our presence inMalaysia through the acquisition of a 31% stake in PantaiHoldings. With this investment, Parkway has become thelargest shareholder of Malaysia’s leading healthcare serviceprovider. Parkway has a long and successful presence inMalaysia and this move will expand our business basesignifi cantly and provide a critical mass of services andfacilities. In Malaysia we have grown from 2 to 9 hospitalsand ancillary facilities across the country. Malaysia is a keymarket for us and our investment in Pantai is a strategicmove to continue building on our strengths and growth inkey regional markets.Despite our leadership position, we recognise that wecannot rest on our laurels. Moving forward, our next stepis to achieve sustained growth and generate continuedshareholders’ value. We will achieve this through:10