Johannesburg - Gas and welding company African Oxygen Limited (Afrox) [JSE:AFX] has won a healthcare contract worth over R1bn.
National Treasury confirmed that Afrox will supply medical gases to government hospitals - comprising a total of more than 400 hospitals and 1 600 clinics - across all nine provinces in South Africa.
Government has given Afrox until the end of September 2018 to extend its supply operations into government facilities in four provinces: KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State, North West and Mpumalanga.
Afrox CEO Schalk Venter said: “We have long identified the healthcare sector as a growth point and have been concentrating our efforts in recent years to ensure Afrox can operate at efficiency levels to win this new business."
He added that Afrox has the capacity to meet government’s requirements, with “systems in place, backed by a skilled workforce and robust supply chain”.
National Treasury stipulated that the contract will run over five years.
This, said Venter, gives state hospitals the opportunity to use Afrox's state-of-the-art equipment.
With decades of experience in the healthcare sector, Afrox will extend its reach in providing services to state-owned facilities responsible for over 45 million South Africans.
Afrox shares were unchanged shortly after noon on the JSE at R29.94 per share.
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