KPJ Healthcare Q2 earnings up 31%, thanks to local operations

PETALING JAYA: KPJ Healthcare Bhd’s net profit for the second quarter ended June 30, 2018 rose 31.62% to RM42.34 million from RM32.17 million a year ago driven by its improved performance in Malaysia.
In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, the group said revenue for the quarter rose 2.92% to RM801.33 million from RM778.60 million a year ago.
The group said the Malaysia segment’s pre-tax profit rose 26% to RM62 million from RM49.1 million a year ago, while revenue rose 3% to RM777.7 million from RM752.5 million a year ago.
It attributed the improved performance to the increase in number of patient episodes and complex cases per inpatient particularly for KPJ Rawang, KPJ Maharani and KPJ Pasir Gudang.
“Besides, increased activities at the support companies also contributed to the revenue growth. In the current quarter, KPJ Perlis commenced its operation on May 17,” it said.
In addition, cost optimisation initiatives by the hospitals, mainly the new hospitals which were under gestation period, contributed to the segment’s higher net profit.
For the others segment, revenue fell 9% to RM23.6 million from RM26.1 million a year ago mainly due to lower number of patients, particularly for Rumah Sakit Medica Bumi Serpong Damai.
The lower revenue of its Indonesian operation resulted in a loss of RM3,000 compared with earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) of RM1.5 million a year ago.
Meanwhile, the Australian segment reported a slight increase in revenue to RM14.8 million from RM14.4 million a year ago and an Ebitda of RM600,000 compared with loss of RM1.3 million a year ago.
The stronger Ebitda was backed by better utilisation of resources due to higher number of residents reported by Jeta Gardens.
For the six months ended June 30, 2018, net profit rose 20.42% to RM84.82 million from RM70.44 million a year ago while revenue rose 4.26% to RM1.62 billion from RM1.56 billion a year ago.
The group declared a half sen single tier interim dividend per share to be paid on Oct 5, 2018.
For the current financial year ending Dec 31, 2018, the group will continue to improve its performance and enhance its business strategies to ensure long-term growth and profitability.
The group said that rising costs will continue to be a challenge hence, to ensure consistent improvement of Ebitda and profit margin, it will focus on disciplined cost management.
KPJ’s share price closed unchanged at RM1.14 yesterday with 4.36 million shares traded.