The Maslak Acibadem Hospital in Istanbul, Turkey.
KUALA LUMPUR: IHH Healthcare Bhd
posted earnings of RM235.48mil for the first quarter ended March 31, 2015, up 37.3% from a year earlier thanks largely the strong earnings growth of Parkway Pantai’s Singapore operations.
The premium healthcare provider, which is 42.9% owned by Khazanah Nasional Bhd, told Bursa Malaysia that Parkway Pantai’s hospitals across the Causeway boosted their earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) by 42.7% to RM237.33mil. This helped raise the overall Ebitda of IHH’s largest operating subsidiary, Parkway Pantai, by 25.7% to RM1.54bil.
Inpatient admissions at Parkway Pantai’s Singapore hospitals grew 10.9% to 18,094 in the quarter while patient volumes at its Malaysia hospitals rose 9.6% to 49,026.
Meanwhile, IHH’s revenue also grew strongly at 23.6% to RM2.475bil, attributed to both organic growth and new or newly-acquired operations.
The new operations include Gleneagles Kota Kinabalu Hospital (opened in May 2015), Acibadem Taksim Hospital (opened in October 2015) and Gleneagles Medini Hospital (opened in November 2015), as well as acquisitions in India -- Continental Hospitals (51% stake acquired in March 2015) and Global Hospitals (73.4% stake bought in December 2015).
However, start-up losses from new hospitals and pre-opening expenses to prepare for the opening of Gleneagles Hong Kong next year diluted the IHH group’s Ebitda.
Of the group’s other subsidiaries, Turkey’s largest private healthcare provider Acibadem Holdings registered a 6.9% year-on-year growth in Ebitda to RM157.79mil. Its inpatient admissions grew 16.9% to 39,296 in Q1 2016.
As for IHH’s medical education arm IMU Health, its Ebitda stayed relatively flat at RM23.17mil due to higher operating expenses incurred for marketing and teaching materials.
IHH said in a media statement that the group remained in a strong financial position, maintaining a net gearing of 0.19 times as at end-March 2016 with significant cash holdings of about RM2.1bil.
“We are pleased to continue delivering solid growth in the quarter, reflecting the strength of our diverse operations despite the challenging macroeconomic climate,” said managing director and chief executive officer Dr Tan See Leng.
“We will also continue to be on the lookout for significant but targeted value accretive opportunities, such as our market-leading entry into Bulgaria.”
In April, Acibadem signed definitive agreements to enter the Bulgarian market by acquiring 100% of Tokuda Group and merging with City Clinic.
IHH shares increased 3 sen to close at RM6.52 on Thursday.
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