Netcare warns of cloudy outlook for healthcare
SA’s second-largest hospital group has upped its interim dividend to end-March by 6.8%, but warns that local conditions remain subdued
Private hospital operator Netcare said on Monday it had seen a healthy 5.6% growth in revenue for the six months to end-March, boosted by the inclusion of Akeso Clinics during the period. Operating conditions in SA’s healthcare sector remains challenging however, with Netcare saying on Monday it expects growth in its second half to be lower than its first, as acute patient day demand is expected to weaken. The group said its margins should be under pressure in the rest of the year due to stricter management from medical aids, as well as the growth of restricted hospital networks. Adjusted headline earnings per share (HEPS) for continuing operations fell 3.9% to 84.3c to end-March from the prior comparative period. However, when adjusting for interest income in the prior period related to its former UK subsidiary BMI Healthcare’s debt, HEPS rose 2.4%. Netcare changed BMI’s accounting status to “discontinued operation” in the first half of its 2018 financial year, which translated int...
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