Mediclinic PLC (LON:MDC), the private hospital group, said the new wave of coronavirus infections spreading across Europe is hampering the recovery of its Swiss arm Hirslanden.
The differing pace of global vaccine roll-outs is also causing uncertainty, it said, and consequently it ‘remains cautious’ as to the full impact of COVID-19 on its outlook in the short term.
Mediclinic had expected to be back at pre-pandemic levels in the current year financial year, but the new outbreak of COVID-19 infections means Hirslanden’s recovery will be slower than previously expected.
Even so, the FTSE250 group still expects growth in revenue and underlying profit [EBITDA] across all its three divisions – Switzerland, South Africa and the Middle East - during the current year to end-March 2022.
For the year to March just ended, Mediclinic said revenues fell 3% while underlying profits margins were 14% against 17.5% a year ago, though both revenues and margins picked up in the second half.
Ronnie van der Merwe, Mediclinic's chief executive, said: "Despite the more severe second wave of the pandemic placing even greater demand on our healthcare facilities and people, we have adapted well through agility and resilience to deliver a solid second-half performance with revenue growth of around 1.0%.”