Mediclinic International Plc (LON:MDC) reported a 33% decline in half-year profits but said it has seen a strong rebound in demand for elective surgical procedures at its private hospitals in Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates since May as the initial peak of the pandemic passed.
Revenue of £1.5bn for the six months to end-September was down 7% on the same period last year, with underlying profit (EBITDA) down by a third to £252mln.
The largest business, Mediclinic South Africa saw revenue shrink 19%, with profit margins more than halved as it cared for a significant number of COVID-19 patients and was not able to offer its full range of services.
Since early August surgical case volumes have improved due to demand for elective procedures, with Southern Africa revenue down around 6% in September.
The Middle East arm, and Hirslanden in Switzerland to a lesser extent, were said to have benefited since June from “counter-seasonal holiday trends resulting from travel restrictions imposed and procedures delayed as a consequence of the lockdown period”.
The Middle East business was the only arm to see revenue growth in the period, having rapidly deployed supplementary services to meet new patient needs and changing behaviour, including pharmacy home delivery, alternative interim facilities to admit low-acuity or asymptomatic cases and two new laboratories to provide additional COVID-19 testing capacity.
The group’s 29.9% stake in Spire Healthcare (LON:SPI), which last month reported a £33.1mln half-year loss, resulted in a £9.9mln equity-accounted loss of income to Mediclinic compared to £2.1mln of positive income a year earlier.