Entrevista a Eduardo Baviera en Bloomberg

Nov. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Clinica Baviera SA, the Spanish eye- clinic operator whose shares have outperformed the benchmark IBEX 35 Index this year, said it plans to open as many as 10 more surgeries next year.

The company, which operates 66 ophthalmology clinics in countries from Spain to Austria, will open between eight and 10 more in 2012, including about three at home, Chief Executive Officer Eduardo Baviera said in an interview.

 “We still have a significant opportunity to grow in the markets where we operate and entering a new market isn’t a priority,” said Baviera, who co-founded the company in 1992 with his brother, Medical Director Julio Baviera. “The goal is to open about 50 ophthalmology clinics within four to five years.”

Clinica Baviera, Spain’s largest private operator of eye surgeries, is betting on foreign expansion to offset weaker growth in Spain, where consumer spending is battered by the highest unemployment rate in the European Union. International sales account for 19 percent of revenue and earnings from foreign markets will grow more than 10 percent in coming quarters, said Baviera, who was interviewed at the company’s headquarters in Madrid.

Sales at the Spanish eye unit climbed 3.7 percent to 44.5 million euros ($60.6 million) in the first nine months, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization dropped 6.6 percent to 9.5 million euros, the company said Nov.7. Abroad, sales rose 8.1 percent to 13.2 million euros and Ebitda surged 55 percent to 1.4 million euros.
    
Baviera said earnings next year will probably grow at a pace similar to this year’s and the unprofitable cosmetics division, which runs 14 clinics in Spain, should start making money in the second half.
Clinica Baviera has dropped 4.7 percent this year in Madrid trading, giving the company a value of 111.9 million euros.
Spain’s IBEX 35 Index has shed 15 percent in the period.