MGP.L Regulatory News (MGP)

20 May 2020

Medica Group Plc

AGM Statement

Medica Group PLC (LSE:MGP, "Medica" or the "Company"), the UK market leader in the provision of teleradiology services, provides a business update in advance of holding its Annual General Meeting (AGM) at 10.30 a.m. today.

As a result of the continuing COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions on public gatherings imposed by the UK government, the AGM will be convened with the minimum necessary quorum of two shareholders (which will be facilitated by Medica Group) at One Priory Square, Hastings, East Sussex TN34 1EA. Shareholders and any persons other than the two shareholders referred to above will not be permitted to attend the AGM in person. The Board would like to thank shareholders for their co-operation and understanding during these challenging and extraordinary times.

Following the AGM, the Board will respond to any questions submitted by shareholders in advance of the meeting and the answers will be posted on the investors section of the Company website.

Statement from Roy Davis, Chairman of Medica

Current trading and outlook

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Medica is complying with government guidance and requirements across its operations to prioritise the health and safety of its employees. In addition, through Medica's business model of providing our operational service remotely from home, we have been able to rapidly respond to the pandemic to ensure continuity of the service and support for our customers.

2020 started well, with a strong performance in January and February. However, as the Company stated in a market and trading update on 23 March 2020 and subsequently in its preliminary results announcement on 7 April 2020, the business has been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

For Routine reporting, trading remains in-line with guidance provided on 7 April 2020, with activity decreasing by over 95% from pre-COVID levels. For our urgent, out-of-hours "Nighthawk" reporting service, we are encouraged that after experiencing an initial c.50% reduction, activity has begun to increase, and is now approximately two-thirds of activity levels pre-COVID-19.

The Board anticipates that Nighthawk activity will continue to increase as our clients work to reinstate normal out-of-hours staffing rotas and attendance at emergency departments increases. Routine activity is expected to take significantly longer to return to pre-COVID-19 levels, with factors such as the uptake of outpatient appointments by the general public, radiology scanning capacity limitations imposed by social distancing, and enhanced cleaning requirements impacting the speed of recovery.

The Company will continue to appraise shareholders as the recovery continues and would like to reiterate that it is in a strong cash position with over £20 million on the balance sheet (net cash over £8.0m) at the current time and a further £1 million undrawn facility.

Customer support and strategy implementation

In March 2020, the Company announced it was supporting its clients with a pro bono 'pass-through' service that would allow our client's radiologists to access their NHS cases remotely using Medica equipment. We are pleased to report the facility has enabled our reporters to provide reports for over 3,000 patients in total since this initiative started.

Despite the impact of reduced activity, Medica remains diligent in the recruitment of radiologists, which will increase the Company's reporting capacity once activity resumes. Furthermore, the management team is using this time to focus on implementing the strategy communicated on 23 March 2020 and on operational excellence projects to ensure the Group is fully prepared to support our clients when they need us.

On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank our reporters and our central team for their commitment and dedication in adapting so quickly to the challenges faced during the pandemic and continuing to deliver a resilient service remotely.

Board changes

As announced previously, Tony Lee will be leaving the Company at the end of May 2020. I would like to thank Tony for his service to Medica as Finance Director and wish him well in the future. Additionally, I am looking forward to welcoming Richard Jones to Medica as Chief Financial Officer. On behalf of the Board, I wish him all the best as he joins Medica during this challenging, but exciting time for the Company as we continue to implement our growth strategy.

Finally, as also previously announced, Professor Mike Bewick will stand down as a Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Remuneration Committee at the AGM. I would like to thank Mike for his valuable contribution to Medica during his tenure, both from a remuneration committee and clinical perspective. We wish him the very best for the future. Jo Easton will replace Mike as Chair of the Remuneration Committee.

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About MEDICA

MEDICA is the UK market leader in the provision of teleradiology services, providing outsourced interpretation and reporting on MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), CT (computerised tomography) and plain film (x-ray) images. The Company currently offers three primary services to hospital radiology departments: NightHawk, an out-of-hours service, routine cross-sectional reporting on MRI and CT scans, and routine plain film reporting on x-ray images.

MEDICA has developed a bespoke secure IT platform that provides market-leading linkage between a hospital's Radiology Information System (RIS) and Consultant Radiologists who contract with MEDICA. Direct RIS access ensures that the full wider patient information is available and reviewed with every report.

The Company contracts with the largest pool of consultant radiologists outside of the NHS and has been trusted to provide more than 1.3 million examinations annually across its customer base of more than 100 NHS Trusts and various private hospital groups and diagnostic imaging companies. For more information please visit www.medicagroup.co.uk 

About Teleradiology

Teleradiology is the electronic transmission of radiological patient images, including plain film (x-rays), CT scans and MRI scans, from one location to another for the purposes of diagnostic interpretation and reporting.