First of all, it will of course be necessary to keep an eye on the regulations concerning the establishments managed by Korian and which can evolve over time. This can favour or disfavour the company depending on the decisions taken by the governments.
It is necessary to keep an eye on the competition of this sector of activity and in particular on the news of the Orpéa group which is the principal adversary of the Korian group on the most targeted markets.
In the same way, it will also be necessary to monitor the strategy implemented by the Korian group with the aim of developing its services in other countries of the world and in particular in developing or emerging markets. This will be done through local acquisitions, joint ventures or strategic partnerships. We will therefore have to keep a close eye on these strategic operations abroad.
The strategy to develop new services in the historical markets will also be monitored with the pricing policy conducted by the group to face the competition or the innovations and restructuring of existing buildings and establishments to attract more customers.
The reduction of Korian's expenses and operating costs may also depend on other advances such as telemedicine, which would also make it possible to respond to a growing demand from patients.
The real estate sector in general is also a strategic element to be closely monitored in order to analyse Korian's strategic development possibilities. Indeed, real estate is a strategic element that must be mastered to optimize operating costs and results according to the positioning of the offer.
Of course, the ageing of the population is at the heart of Korian's growth possibilities. We need to look at the global demographics and their evolution, but also at the evolution of the needs of the elderly over time, which could require additional investments by the group in the years to come.
The Korian group is a private company specialising in the management of care facilities for dependent persons. It is the leader in this sector in Europe. It also offers "retirement home" type establishments.
More precisely, the Korian group operates no less than 366 establishments in France, representing more than 30,000 places, including medico-social establishments for the elderly, retirement homes, long-stay centres and rest homes, as well as health establishments with follow-up care and rehabilitation clinics and psychiatric clinics. Its French establishments alone generate more than 52.6% of Korian's revenue.
Another large part of Korian's turnover is generated in Germany, where the group operates more than 222 establishments, currently providing 28,090 places. This geographical sector represents 28.5% of the establishment's turnover.
Next comes the Italian market, which represents 10.1% of the group's turnover with 51 establishments and 5,506 places, and Belgium, which represents 8.8% of turnover with 76 establishments and 8,253 places. To date, the Korian group employs 37,784 people throughout Europe.
The Korian group, which was born from the merger of the retirement home companies Finagest and Serience, has since developed strongly through a long series of acquisitions of all kinds.
Currently and thanks to these various acquisitions, the Korian group is at the head of more than 700 establishments in Europe, with a capacity of more than 71,000 people. It is particularly present on the markets of France, Germany, Italy and Belgium. However, the group is still pursuing an international development strategy and could therefore proceed with new mergers and acquisitions in the near future.
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If a good knowledge of the main activities of the group is of course essential to sell and buy Korian share, it is also recommended to know well the main competitors of this group. We thus propose to you to discover here who are the most dangerous adversaries of Korian and their principal activities.
The biggest competitor of Korian at the moment is of course the Emeis group which is also specialized in the sector of health of the elderly. This group manages a chain of retirement homes and care clinics. Founded in 1989, it now has establishments in more than 35 different countries, including 180 establishments in Germany, 61 establishments in Belgium, 84 establishments in Austria, 37 establishments in Switzerland, 62 establishments in Spain, 21 establishments in Italy, 22 establishments in Poland, 19 establishments in the Czech Republic, 67 establishments in the Netherlands, 22 establishments in Portugal, 2 establishments in Luxembourg, 18 establishments in Brazil and 2 establishments in China.
The Medica group, which is also a private French healthcare group specialising in the operation of facilities for the care of dependent persons, is also a competitor. This group operates in particular in the EHPAD sector (Etablissements d'Hébergement pour Personnes Agées Dépendantes) in France and Italy and in the health sector with follow-up care and rehabilitation facilities and psychiatric clinics. Thanks to these two activities, the group currently has a capacity of over 13,800 beds.
Still in France, we will also count on competition from the Le Noble Age group, which is a family-owned company created in 1990 and which today operates more than 70 establishments mainly in France and Belgium. This group also gave rise to the creation of the LNA Santé brand in 2016 around the same project. This group also created in 1999 the first specialized retirement home for people with Alzheimer's disease or related disorders. It takes care of various neurodegenerative diseases such as vascular dementia or Lewy body.
Finally, Korian's last main competitor is the Domus Vi group, which was formed from the merger in 2011 of Dolcéa and Domus Vi. It is currently the second largest operator of EHPAD on the French market. This group operates no less than 193 managed residences with a total capacity of 15,378 beds.
The first partnership that we are going to present to you is the one signed between Korian and Gault & Millau with the aim of emphasizing the restoration proposed in the establishments of the group. Indeed and by joining forces with the famous guide which will evaluate, with its professional expertise, the Korian establishments, the group intends to propose a restoration which combines pleasure and health to its customers. The restaurant is indeed one of the points judged as essential by Korian regarding the quality of its establishments. This partnership with Gault&Milau aims to improve the dining experience in nursing homes.
Even more recently, the Korian group has also joined forces with the Icade Santé group in an agreement involving Icade Promotion and concerning the support of Korian in the reconfiguration and expansion of its network in France. This is a non-exclusive partnership that is part of a new real estate policy led by the group and concerns an initial batch of 15 new buildings to be delivered by 2020 in France. The agreement includes the development, design and construction of the facilities under a property development contract by Icade Promotion. The Korian group has a purchase option before delivery on each building, in line with its objective of increasing its asset ownership rate. Icade Santé will be able to acquire a portion of these buildings under a lease on completion or BEFA basis. This partnership with Icade's two subsidiaries is part of a dynamic asset portfolio management strategy under the Korian 2020 plan, which is based in particular on the restructuring of the portfolio with a potential volume of 50 concomitant projects ranging from the design phase to the completion phase and on the improvement of rental conditions. Korian also intends to extend this type of partnership to other countries.
Finally, the Korian group has also recently set up a partnership with Careit and Primonial REIM as part of its real estate reconfiguration program and in order to develop its growth. As the European leader in support services for the elderly, Korian has signed a development partnership with Careit, a company specialising in the health and medico-social real estate sector, and Primonial REIM, which specialises in portfolio management and is Korian's leading landlord with around 50 establishments in France and Germany.
Korian's main strength is of course its specialisation in the sector of specialised retirement homes. The group is very well developed internationally with numerous establishments throughout Europe and a total of 71,000 beds.
However, Korian still manages to position itself as a leader in certain countries and in the retirement home segment only. This is notably the case in the French market, where it has a 3.4% market share, but also in Germany where it has a 2.6% market share. Korian is in second place in other countries such as Italy with 1.4% of market share and Belgium with 4% of market share.
The Korian group has a very clear positioning in the very specific field of services for the elderly. Indeed, in addition to retirement homes, the group manages and operates nursing homes, geriatric clinics and even offers home care and other services for the elderly, making it a complete player in its field.
We also appreciate the defensive nature of the Korian group's business, which is not subject to any cyclical effect. In fact, thanks to the increase in life expectancy and the relatively good economic and financial situation of the elderly in France and Germany in particular, Korian has good visibility on future needs and is assured of minimal profitability in the medium and long term.
The sector in which Korian operates is also ideal in terms of competition. Indeed, new competitors are rare because of the important investments that the entry on this market requires in terms of real estate, but also because of the high costs of salaries and the regulatory constraints more and more numerous.
The quality of the profitability of this company can also be appreciated by its occupancy rate, which remains relatively high with more than 86% of the beds occupied in retirement homes.
If Korian's presence in France is no longer in question, the group is also managing to increase its international development.
Finally, investors and shareholders also appreciate the group's overall financial situation, which remains very healthy for this sector of activity with little debt and consistent results.
First of all, it is important to remember that France, like the European Union, has been going through a period of major economic crisis for several years. In the context of this crisis, the governments are putting in place processes to reduce public deficits, which of course have an impact on reimbursements and care. However, the activities of groups like Korian depend to a large extent on these expenses. Also, these increasingly strict regulations are leading investors and analysts to question the future profitability of the group.
Although the Korian group is very well represented in Europe, its results in Germany have been rather disappointing in recent years. The losses recorded have indeed led to the implementation of a plan requiring an investment of more than 25 million euros over three years starting in 2017 in order to return to a correct performance.
Similarly, and despite a generally satisfactory financial health, we will note an increase in Korian's debt level since 2016 and profit declines that may worry the markets.
Lastly, the strategic plan implemented by the Korian group in 2016, which includes restructuring its activities in France and Italy, has yet to prove itself. Indeed, investors are rather cautious about the benefits of this strategy.
The shares of the Korian group are listed on the French market of Euronext Paris. In this sense, you can buy them through the stock market investment products available on this market such as PEA or securities accounts. But you can also choose to speculate on this stock without buying it by taking an up or down position from an online CFD or contracts for difference trading platform.
The Korian group wants to inform as much as possible its investors and shareholders of all the data concerning them. Also, it reserves a part of its official site to these statistics and publications and you will be able to find there the detailed balance sheets of the group but also the forecasts and objectives fixed by this one more or less long term as well as the press releases relaying the operations of importance planned or carried out by Korian like the partnerships, acquisitions and others.
Various one-off events can support Korian's share price, such as the purchase of new residences from competitors, both in France and abroad, the implementation of partnerships or the creation of new establishments under construction and the completion of projects. You should therefore keep yourself informed of these important news and announcements and use them effectively without omitting the other indicators.
