Health Management International posts 38% drop in Q4 profit

PRIVATE healthcare provider Health Management International (HMI) on Thursday reported a 38 per cent drop in net profit for the fourth quarter ended June 30, 2016, to RM4.87 million (S$1.64 million).

The decline was due to its utilisation of deferred tax assets recognised by subsidiary Regency Specialist Hospital Sdn Bhd (RSHSB), cost increases from non-recoverable input GST, and share-based expenses.

For the full year, HMI also reported a 28 per cent fall in net profit to RM19.9 million, due to the impact of deferred tax assets and higher general operating costs.

But revenue of RM397.81 million for the full year, which was a 15 per cent increase year on year, was a record high. HMI said this was mainly driven by higher patient load and average bill sizes in its two tertiary hospitals in Malaysia - the 288-bed-capacity Mahkota Medical Centre and the 218-bed-capacity Regency Specialist Hospital. The group's education business also contributed to the topline on higher student headcount.

Group CEO Chin Wei Jia pointed out that more than 20 per cent of HMI's total patient load is from overseas.

"Mahkota was an early mover in medical tourism since 1999 and today, captures approximately 10 per cent of the total Malaysian medical tourism market as a stand-alone hospital," she said.

"We are also excited about the growth potential of Regency and plan to more than double existing capacity to capture patient load, both locally and from overseas."

HMI has proposed a final cash dividend of 0.75 sen per share for fiscal 2016, which translates to a payout ratio of 22 per cent.