Advanced Health stalls vision to return to profit

ALTX-LISTED Advanced Health has put aside its Vision 2020 to concentrate on returning the company to profitability. Chief executive Carl Grillenberger said the group’s objective to open 20-day hospitals by 2020 had been put on hold until existing facilities became profitable.

This comes after the group extended its losses to R48.18 million for the year to end June, up from R15.73m a year before. However, Grillenberger stressed the group was firmly on track to achieve its aim of growing its footprint of independent, quality and cost-effective day hospitals, to the benefit of patients, doctors and medical schemes.

He said despite the losses, it had experienced positive signs during the period. “We built eight new facilities and they became operational over a short period of time. In South Africa two new day hospitals will open during the first half of 2018,” Grillenberger added.

The group operates in two main regions in Australia and South Africa.

It reported a 28.16 percent increase in revenue to R309.11m, up from R241.19m last year. It said this was as a result of an increase in the number of facilities in South Africa as well as organic growth within existing facilities, resulting in additional patients. The diluted headline loss per share was 17.09 cents compared with last year’s 8c. The company did not declare a dividend for the period.

“These were bad sets of results and in the next financial year we plan to better utilise all facilities to report better financial results,” Grillenberger said.

It managed to produce excellent results in Australia, lifting its profits by 271.95 percent to R21.35m, up from R5.74m. The company said its Presmed Australia operations beat expectations in all three facilities.

The company has 10 hospitals in South Africa which reported a loss of R22.53m.

Advanced Health shares were flat on the JSE yesterday to close at 90 cents.