“Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end; then stop.” Lewis Carroll
Thanks for your interest in Trephine. I will endeavour to make the commentary insightful, succinct, and at the very least, entertaining. Anyway here we go:
1st Group
Market cap: $7m
Website
I have had some expensive hobbies in my life. I once convinced myself that I had enough time and space to make timber furniture, and that a set of $1000 Japanese chisels and sharpening gear was just what I needed to get to that next level. Anyway that didn’t happen, but they look cool. But I have never committed several years of my life and quite a few million dollars to a ideas that just weren’t very good to begin with.
Who are they?
1st Group listed in 2015 and comprises of three businesses - VisionFlex, PetYeti, and GoBookings. Until recently they owned MyHealth1st which was sold to Healthshare for $1.25m. 1st Group bought Visionflex in 2022.
What do they do?
Essentially MyHealth1st, PetYeti, and GoBookings were three different versions of the same thing - a booking app for Medical professionals, Vets, and corporations. As someone who has booked both a restaurant and a haircut in the last ten years, there is no shortage of booking apps. I am always astounded by the terrible quality of software that permeates the healthcare space, but that is an aside. Visionflex is a bit more interesting so I will talk about it more further.
Visionflex
From the company: Visionflex is a global telehealth platform that enables medical professionals to diagnose, monitor and treat patients over a secure, private network. To date Visionflex has advanced the care of patients in regional and remote areas including indigenous communities, aged care, hospitals, corrective services, and the resource sectors.
Essentially Visionflex is a repackaging of a multitude of medical devices (BP cuffs, ECGs) and a software platform, into a format that can be rolled for Telehealth appointments. See the image below for one of their products:
As you can probably tell by this image, this looks like more expensive versions of existing equipment, but dressed up on a cool wheely-trolley with a webcam. Visionflex apparently has some trials ongoing with some regional health programs. But let’s address the elephant in the room.
Valuation
I am all for addressing the inequities in Australia’s regional healthcare system, but I don’t think this trolley will do it. The booking apps were a non-starter, and Visionflex is ambitious at best. The company has quite a bit of debt and about six quarters of funding to go. See the below from their quarterly update this year:
Thank goodness for the deep pockets of Mr Plummer and Adcock. My gut says that Visionflex is not the panacea that 1st Group hopes it is. Outside of a significant government funding push for Visionflex machines in regional Australia, the structural issues of insufficient GPs in Australia will remain. The company claims a global reach with Visionflex, and maybe things will work out for them by geographically diversifying, but I am skeptical. This is a tiny company and I think it is destined to stay that way. I wouldn’t go so far to say that it is structurally unprofitable, but it doesn’t look great.
I don’t think this company is entirely a listed lifestyle-co writeoff, and I wish them all the best, but it’s not for me.
Thanks for reading! If you have any feedback or comments, I’d love to hear from you.
Disclaimer
I have no affiliation with, or position in any of the companies unless otherwise mentioned. I will not make solicitations to buy or sell any security. None of the posts are advice of any kind. I have no idea what I am talking about. Please go away and consult a professional.