Thanks to the epidemic, companies are getting richer

We find them on many street corners. The testing stands have become a real business in a few months. The specialized company, Medica Lib, intervenes daily in companies to carry out anti-Covid tests as soon as a case is detected. 

Each test is charged at 35 euros, including the necessary equipment and the remuneration of the caregiver. “The health professional is paid 70 euros per hour to perform the tests, which cost between 6 and 8 euros. Then there is the whole organization and coordination part”, explains Nicolas Baudelot, co-founder of Medicalib. 

A profitable operation since each test brings in 4 euros for the company. The company has carried out nearly 200,000 tests since the beginning of the epidemic. Thus, it has already generated more than 800,000 euros in profits. “It’s a new business linked to Covid-19 that has allowed us to grow and hire people. Five people are dedicated to corporate activities.” The company is expanding rapidly and can perform more than a million tests before December 31, 2021.

On the pharmacy side, the profitability is more fluctuating. Even if pharmacists pay only 5 euros for the test, pay the student in charge of inserting the swab in the nose of the patients 20 euros per hour, and receive a reimbursement of 25 euros per test from the health insurance, the patients are sometimes lacking

“Sustained activity can allow us to pay the person and find a little profitability,” says Eric Myon, manager of a pharmacy in Paris. “But if you have a student who comes in for 10 hours or so and you do very few tests, there is obviously no profitability.

Tent manufacturers are also generating interesting revenues, with sales between 400 and 600 euros. White tents are “very popular, especially with pharmacies,” notes Laurent Lesur, deputy director of the custom tarpaulin company Nord Bâches Templemars. 

Since the introduction of the health pass, he has been winning contracts. A trend that should be confirmed in the fall: “Shopping centers, all places receiving the public will have to be equipped, we expect a wave of demand.