Telehealth company Reliq Health Technologies Inc. (RHT:TSX.V; RQHTF:OTCQB; A2AJTB:WKN) announced it has signed six new contracts with physician practices in California, Florida, and Nevada.
The contracts are expected to add more than 3,000 new patients to the company's iUGO platform by the end of Q1 in 2024 at an average of CA$65 per patient per month.
Reliq also recently signed a contract with a U.S. health plan that operates in five states with more than 3,000 doctors and 1 million patients, a move expected to add more than 10,000 new patients to iUGO by next March.
"We are very pleased with our continued traction in California, Florida, and Nevada," said Reliq Chief Executive Officer Lisa Crossley. "The southern U.S. states are a particularly attractive market segment for Reliq due to demographics. With many older Americans choosing to move south in retirement, there is a very large population of Medicare-covered patients in these states who are eligible for Reliq's services."
The global telehealth market is expected to reach US$455.3 billion by 2030 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24% from 2023 to 2030, according to Research and Markets.
All six practices are set to go live on the platform next month.
Crossley also pointed out that the three states where the company now has the most patients — California, Florida, and Texas — make up more than one-quarter of the U.S. population with more than 90 million residents.
The company also signed five new contracts in four states this year for iUGO, including its first contract in Arkansas.
Reliq also started onboarding patients in March for another large client, a healthcare system with more than 1,200 care centers in seven states that are expected to add over 2,000 new patients per month to iUGO.
The Catalysts: The Pandemic, Rising Chronic Illnesses
The global telehealth market is expected to reach US$455.3 billion by 2030 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24% from 2023 to 2030, according to Research and Markets.
The rising penetration of the internet and the development of smartphones are factors that contributed to the growth, the research company wrote.
"The pandemic exposed the shortcomings in the health care systems," researchers wrote. "The government-imposed travel restrictions and lockdowns (mandated) in order to curb the spread of the virus . . . led to patients and healthcare institutions shifting towards teleconsultation and telemedicine."
In an April 3 note, Sadif Analytics upgraded RHT to Above Average from Average.
The rising occurrence of chronic illness in developing regions also is driving the demand for telemedicine services, Global Market Insights wrote.
"Increased traditional health care costs, growing number of digital health users, and the evolution of health services in the health care institutions have spurred the technology uptake," researchers wrote.
In an April 3 note, Sadif Analytics upgraded RHT to Above Average from Average.
The company "has fair financials and good earnings quality," the note said, adding the stock was "safe."
Technical analyst Clive Maund of CliveMaund.com recommended the stock shortly after news broke last year that the company's revenue jumped 485% from the fiscal year 2021 to the fiscal year 2022. Writing for Streetwise Reports, he said he would "stay long" on the stock.
Platform Aims to Manage Conditions
Reliq's platform aims to manage diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), congestive heart failure, diabetes, hypertension, and others.
Technical analyst Clive Maund recommended the stock shortly after news broke last year that the company's revenue jumped 485% from the fiscal year 2021 to the fiscal year 2022. He said he would "stay long" on the stock.
Patients get audible reminders to step on a scale, take their blood pressure, or prick their fingers for glucose monitoring. The information is automatically uploaded to the cloud.
iUGO draws on data from fall detection devices, medication tracking, and vitals data to flag patients at home or in facilities who need additional monitoring.
The newest contracts will be for clients using iUGO Care remote patient monitoring (RPM), chronic care management (CCM), and behavioral health integration (BHI) modules to improve health outcomes and reduce the cost of care for chronic disease patients.
Co. Has First Profitable Quarter
Earlier this month, the company announced record revenues for the three months ending March 31 and its first profitable quarter with a gain from operations of CA$731,017.
During the same three months in 2022, the telehealth company reported a loss of CA$811,042. Sales increased 88% YoY to CA$4.7 million compared to CA$2.4 million for the three months ending March 31, 2022.
The company's continued expansion "is really a testament to our unique value proposition in this space," she said.
Revenue from higher-margin software and services increased by more than 69% to CA$1.8 million relative to the three months ending March 31, 2022.
Streetwise Ownership Overview*
Reliq Health Technologies Inc. (RHT:TSX.V; RQHTF:OTCQB; A2AJTB:WKN)
The company said gross profits for the quarter increased by 95% to CA$3.2 million. Gross margins for the period were 68% and are expected to exceed 70% by the end of 2023 due to reduced device costs and an increase in the percentage of Reliq's total revenues from software and services vs. hardware sales.
Ownership and Share Structure
About 8% of Reliq's shares are owned by insiders, including Crossley, with 1.6% or 3.22 million shares. About 0.3% of the company is owned by institutional investors, including FNB Wealth Management, with 0.01% or 0.03 million shares, according to Reuters.
Other top investors include Eugene Beukman, who owns 0.11% or 0.23 million shares, and Brian Storseth, who owns 0.07% or 0.14 million shares, Reuters said.
Crossley said 91.7% of the company is retail.
The company has 203 million shares outstanding, with about 199 million free-floating. It has a market cap of CA$100.71 million and trades in a 52-week range of CA$0.76 and CA$0.36.
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- Reliq Health Technologies Inc. is billboard sponsor(s) of Streetwise Reports and has paid SWR a sponsorship fee between US$3,000 and US$5,000.
- Steve Sobek wrote this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports as an employee.
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