IHH Healthcare’s Q2 net profit almost halves

> Down 47.8% due to high base effect in Q2 2017, including a one-off disposal gain

PETALING JAYA: IHH Healthcare Bhd registered a 47.8% fall in net profit to RM165.11 million for the second quarter (Q2) ended June 30, 2018 compared with RM316.56 million in the previous corresponding period due to a high base effect in Q2 2017, which included a one-off gain of RM241.1 million from its divestment of Apollo Hospitals.

Excluding the exceptional items, its earnings would have jumped 197% to RM256.5 million.

The group’s revenue contracted 4% to RM2.66 billion from RM2.77 billion.

For the first half of the year, IHH’s net profit plunged 71.7% to RM222.34 million from RM786.61 million. Revenue came in at RM5.51 billion, 1.1% higher than the RM5.46 billion it made a year ago.

IHH told Bursa Malaysia that it is watching the Turkish lira closely as well as accelerating plans to restructure and reduce Acibadem’s foreign debt to manage its exposure to currency volatility.

“In Greater China, we remain on track to sequentially realise our greenfield pipeline; and in India, we are heartened by the resounding mandate from Fortis shareholders at the recent shareholders’ meeting, which speaks to their trust in our ability to drive performance at Fortis while addressing its immediate funding needs. Adding Fortis Healthcare to the IHH family signifies a transformational growth opportunity for us in one of the world’s fastest growing markets.”

The group will look to strengthen its service offerings and focus on building its centres of excellence, especially in highacuity services, to drive revenue intensity across all its hospitals.

It will also ramp up newer hospitals to further optimise operating leverage, consolidate acquired assets and prepare for the progressive opening of its slate of greenfield and expansion projects.

IHH is confident that it remains well placed to capture opportunities with its strong balance sheet and operating cash flow. “The experienced management team has a proven execution track record of establishing and operating an extensive network of hospitals and delivering long term value to all stakeholders.”

IHH closed up 4 sen or 0.7% to RM5.63 yesterday with 6.68 million shares traded.