Doctor Anywhere grows revenue 58%, narrows losses in 2023

AFTER years in the red, Doctor Anywhere’s finances are getting closer to the pink of health.

The Singapore-based healthtech firm improved its operating loss by 17% last year to S$31.1 million (US$23.6 million), according to its latest financial statement.

The company’s financials were driven by a 58 per cent year-on-year surge in revenue to US$62.1 million. Patient and related services, which include consultations, clinical treatments, and sales of medicines and health and wellness-related products and services, contributed to 93 per cent of the company’s revenue.

However, the figure was short of the firm’s goal of closing the year with S$100 million in revenue.

Doctor Anywhere said its strategic expansion into secondary care through its acquisition of Asian Healthcare Specialists (AHS) drove its “profitable growth”.

AHS operates a chain of clinics in Singapore and offers medical services across specialisations such as dermatology, family medicine, gastroenterology, rehabilitation, and urology, among others.

When Doctor Anywhere was founded in 2017, it was primarily focused on telehealth services. By 2020, it diversified into a hybrid model, putting up brick-and-mortar clinics in Singapore and Malaysia. Now, it also provides telehealth services in the Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia.

Fundraising expenses

Despite the 17 per cent improvement in operating profit in 2023, Doctor Anywhere’s loss for the year was only 2 per cent narrower compared to 2022 at US$33 million.

This was due to its financing expenses rising by 83 per cent to US$9.7 million, the majority of which was driven by interest expense on preferred shares.

“These finance expenses are non-cash in nature and do not impact our immediate cash flow,” a company representative said in a statement to Tech in Asia.

In December 2023, Doctor Anywhere announced it had secured US$40.8 million in a series C1 extension round, enabling the company to expand its secondary services.

Without sharing specifics on staff numbers, the company representative notes that the startup hired more doctors, contributing to the 35 per cent increase in expenses on employee benefits.

Lim Wai Mun, founder and CEO of Doctor Anywhere, previously told Tech in Asia that he wanted to double down on specialised services, such as aesthetics and fertility-related procedures. The company already has DA Wellness Concierge, a medical tourism service that helps customers from Singapore book cosmetic procedures such as Botox and dermal filler injections, in Thailand.

However, not all of its subsidiaries are performing well.

The company “deconsolidated” its Vietnam office from the Doctor Anywhere group last year, which led it to write off bad debt worth US$3 million. The amount was originally owed to its Vietnam subsidiary.

Its Vietnam-based office remains standing, but it is now primarily focused on preventive care and other health services.

“This shift enables us to concentrate on areas such as health screenings, where we see greater potential for impact and growth,” the company representative said.

As at the end of 2023, it had US$73.8 million in cash and cash equivalents on its balance sheet, 28 per cent higher than last year. This was primarily driven by its fundraising efforts last year, as the company continues to suffer from a negative operating cash flow, although this did improve by 63 per cent year on year.

Given all these factors, the company said in its financial statement that it would have “sufficient funds to meet obligations for at least 16 months”.

Last year, Doctor Anywhere hired Louis-Berard Carcouet, the former CEO of Bitsmedia – the company behind lifestyle app Muslim Pro – to be its vice-president of product. TECH IN ASIA