LAC Medical aims for top spot in three years

PETALING JAYA (Feb 4, 2014): Healthcare supplier LAC Medical Supplies Sdn Bhd is poised to claim the top spot in the medical imaging equipment industry by commanding 35% to 40% of the local market share within the next three years, said its director Liew Yoon Poh (pix).
LAC Medical is currently one of the top five players in the medical imaging equipment industry in Malaysia worth more than RM100 million a year.
"In three years, we want to be the number-one player in the industry, as our revenue base has been growing steadily over the past 12 years, and it will continue to grow in the years to come," he told SunBiz in an interview.
LAC Medical is founded by Yoon Poh's older brother, Lawrance Liew Yoon Huat, who is also director of the company.
Since its inception in 2002, LAC Medical, together with its global leading partners, supplies healthcare equipments and solutions to the industry practitioners from the public sector and private sector.
Its revenue has been growing fast in the recent years, as the company has recorded 60% year-on-year growth in 2011, 90% growth in 2012, and is now on-track to meet its target to achieve 45% growth in 2013 by hitting the RM25 million mark.
Yoon Poh said LAC Medical is aspired to continue its double-digit growth of 50% in 2014, mainly driven by the strengthening of its existing partnerships and the new partnerships coming into the picture.
Besides, the company is also set to benefit from the government's effort to promote Malaysia as the future hub for medical tourism, which will be further boosted by "Visit Malaysia Year 2014" campaign, he added.
As the official distributor of the Korea-based Samsung Medison Co Ltd, LAC Medical's main product range includes medical imaging equipment which expands across digital radiography (DR) systems and ultrasound systems, as well as medical imaging consumables and accessories.
In November 2013, LAC Medical launched the first 5D Ultrasound technology, UGEO WS80 series that allows parents to view inborn baby images through 3D glasses on Smart TV, while keeping track of their babies' growth.
Going forward, Yoon Poh said the company will expand its portfolio of medical imaging equipment to computed tomography (CT) systems and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems.
On the partnership with Samsung Medison, he said LAC Medical plays an essential role in the value chain of the business to extend product reach in the local market, as well as providing post-sales support and maintenance service.
"We have a close relationship with Samsung Medison, our philosophy is to add value for them and to grow together with them. Our partnership is getting very exciting because it is (their parent company) Samsung Group's intention to make healthcare business as the core business that contributes 20% to 30% of the group's revenue by 2020," said Yoon Poh.
Meanwhile, LAC Medical is also partnering GE Healthcare Sdn Bhd, the healthcare unit of the US-based General Electric Company, by providing innovative healthcare IT solutions to the market.
"By consolidating all the data from different departments to a central storage system, the workflow efficiency of the hospitals will be improved," said Yoon Poh.
Currently, the medical imaging equipment business contributes 70% to LAC Medical's revenue, while the remaining 30% from the healthcare IT solutions business.
On business expansion, LAC Medical is currently in talks with three manufacturers across the globe to become its potential new partners. However, the company is yet to finalise anything until the first quarter of 2014, said Yoon Poh.
LAC Medical currently operates six offices at Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Malacca, Kuantan, Miri and Kuching, and has allocated capital expenditure of about RM3 million to RM3.5 million for this year, to expand its presence to Kota Kinabalu, Johor Baru and Kuala Terengganu by the third quarter of 2014.
Commenting on the industry outlook, Yoon Poh said, "This is an evergreen business. Whether it is good time or bad time, the demand is always there."
In a good time, he said, the government is more willing to spend on the healthcare industry. While in a bad time, the private hospitals would still have to upgrade their medical equipments constantly.
At the moment, 80% of LAC Medical's revenue comes from the hospital clients, while the rest 20% from the general practitioner (GP) clients. On the revenue generated by its hospital clients, government hospitals contribute 60% while private hospitals contribute another 40%.