Specialist
Senior executive at Portman Healthcare Ltd
Agenda
- Revenue outlook given the NHS’s new Q4 2021 activity target for England, including NHS vs private healthcare demand outlook
- Near-term profitability outlook, highlighting increased costs due to PPE (personal protective equipment) increases
- IDH's Mydentist's product Myoptions outlook given increased performance in FY21 vs FY20
- FY21 recruitment and staff retention update, including IDH's post-coronavirus reputation among dentists
Questions
1.
Could you give an update on the UK dental market, highlighting where we are today, some key trends and how it’s recovering as vaccinations increase?
2.
Was the number of patients strong at the start of 2021 or are people still postponing treatments until they’ve been vaccinated?
3.
Could you elaborate on how Brexit is acting as a headwind for struggling NHS practices?
4.
Could you elaborate on why NHS clinics are perhaps struggling to rebound more vs private clinics?
5.
Have factors such as marketing had to increase to encourage patients to return to the dental clinics?
6.
How strong or realised has the pent-up demand been? Is it beginning to stabilise or is it still being realised?
7.
You mentioned that the private clinics were arguably better prepared, had stronger marketing and had staff in the clinics to answer the phone, but are there any other key reasons why there’s stronger demand in private vs NHS clinics?
8.
How much of a driver do you think private cosmetic dentistry could be for Mydentist and particularly Myoptions? I believe private cosmetic dentistry is forecast to grow 14% per year over the next five years.
9.
You said that Mydentist doesn’t have the skillset to deliver the private offering. What would it have to change or what skills would it have to add to become a more appealing private offering?
10.
I understand Myoptions is more of a subsidised or cheaper alternative to higher-end private dentistry. Do you think there is a place for that in the market? Is there a patient population that would want that middle ground?
11.
How well-positioned do you think Mydentist is to capture market share? Could it grow its private work, even if it’s a smaller figure than hoped?
12.
Could you estimate what percentage of Mydentist patients could convert to Myoptions?
13.
Could you elaborate on why IDH will not acquire private practices?
14.
I understand the NHS’s dentistry waiting list is around three years long. Do you think that any patients on that waiting list could decide to move to Myoptions due to being treated quicker?
15.
Are any competitors offering something similar to Myoptions?
16.
The recruitment headwinds that IDH reported for 2021 seem to have relaxed slightly vs previous years. Do you expect any challenges on this front? What might be IDH’s key recruitment headwinds?
17.
How could IDH improve its reputation to increase recruitment? Where would it need to invest to attract new talent?
18.
How does IDH’s reputation compare to its key competitors? How does its general recruitment compare?
19.
Do you think IDH’s reputation might shift or is it fairly stable?
20.
Could you expand on IDH’s potential retention issues? You mentioned its recruitment struggles, so I presume that transitions into retention.
21.
How has coronavirus impacted recruitment within IDH and the wider UK dental market? You referenced Brexit as a key recruitment headwind.
22.
Do you have any high-level comments on the recent transaction for IDH? How might the new ownership potentially impact the broader market?
23.
What should be the key focuses of IDH’s new owners to improve the company’s market positioning?
24.
Are there any particular regions where Mydentist perhaps performs better than others? You said that you think it has some good practices across the UK.
25.
What is your consolidation outlook across the UK dental market? You said that you think it’s important that IDH cut out some practices, but it recently acquired two practices in Northern Ireland.
26.
How well has IDH integrated acquisitions historically?
27.
How has the pandemic impacted multiples of practices that are for sale?
28.
How much are the multiples increasing, as you mentioned?
29.
Do you think that the UK dental prospects are growing in line with the increase in multiples, or is it becoming increasingly tough to allocate capital and deliver a return in line with historic ROIC?
30.
The NHS has confirmed the contractual arrangements for Q4 2021, which say that 100% of payments will now be made subject to meeting a minimum activity target of 45% of normal contracted UDA [Unit of Dental Activity] being delivered. Do you expect that to continue? Where we are now with this?
31.
NHS England recently announced it will make changes to the NHS dental contract by April 2022. What could we expect here? What might dentists want?
