Healthway Medical in the red for Q1

CLINIC operator Healthway Medical Corporation posted a net loss of S$504,000 for its first quarter ended March 31, against a net profit of S$580,000 one year ago, due mainly to a rise in finance costs.

Finance costs were higher by S$0.5 million mainly due to short term borrowings secured during the period for working capital purposes.

Revenue fell 6.2 per cent to S$23.2 million, mainly due to the decrease in revenue of S$1.1 million from the primary healthcare segment, as well as S$0.4 million in specialist & wellness healthcare segment.

Loss per share was 0.02 Singapore cent, compared to earnings per share of 0.03 Singapore cent a year ago. No dividend was declared for the period.

In an update, Healthway Medical Corporation said that an independent review requested by the Singapore Exchange to look into the extension of loans by the group to Healthway Medical Enterprises (HME) and Wei Yi Shi Ye, a China-incorporated medical centre owner - with the objective of establishing whether there are any breaches - has yet to be completed.

In its outlook, the company added that the operating environment continues to be challenging.