IHH Healthcare Q1 net profit edges up 3% to RM528 million

[SINGAPORE] Integrated healthcare operator IHH Healthcare on Tuesday (May 26) reported a 3 per cent year-on-year rise in net profit to RM528 million (S$170.1 million) for its first quarter ended Mar 31.

Revenue came in at RM6.6 billion, up 4 per cent year on year. The group attributed this to “sustained demand for quality healthcare services, a case mix of more acute patients, and price adjustments to counter inflation”.

It added that the consolidation of Bayindir Healthcare, which it acquired in July 2025, also factored in the top-line growth. Earnings per share came in at RM0.0598, up from RM0.0583 in Q1 FY2025. No dividend was declared, unchanged from a year earlier.

IHH Healthcare incurred a loss of RM796 million in foreign currency translation differences from foreign operations in Q1, reversing from a gain of RM53 million in the year-ago period. The sum arose “mainly from the translation of the net assets of its Singapore, India, Turkey and Europe operations”, it explained. The group has a presence in 10 countries.

The group added that its reported financial position as at Mar 31 was affected by movements in the ringgit; it noted that the Malaysian currency had strengthened against the Singapore dollar and Turkish lira during the period. Nonetheless, the “strength of (its) diversified portfolio mitigated translation impact from a stronger ringgit”, it said. IHH Healthcare highlighted that, on a constant-currency basis and excluding exceptional items, its Q1 core net profit would have been RM545 million, up 5 per cent year on year.

Dr Prem Kumar Nair, the group’s CEO, said that its “steady growth” during the quarter came “on the back of strong performances in Malaysia, Turkey and Europe, and India”. Malaysia was a key growth driver in Q1, as the group “continued to increase medical tourism share and improve revenue intensity, while expanding its capital-efficient day-care model” in the country. Turkey and Europe, meanwhile, booked “strong growth across all key metrics, experiencing strong local and foreign demand despite a full month of Eid impact”.

Tackling headwinds in Singapore

Singapore, however, faced headwinds from “structural shifts towards public healthcare utilisation”.

IHH Healthcare said that it introduced measures aimed at stabilising its performance in the Republic, with recovery expected in the second half of 2026. These include “refined patient targeting”, with Mount Elizabeth Hospital focusing on higher-value, high-intensity care, while Gleneagles Hospital and Parkway East Hospital seek to drive patient volumes.

The group is also expanding its day-care and ambulatory care offerings to support a broader out-of-hospital care strategy. At the same time, IHH Healthcare is looking to boost patient volumes in Singapore with more tie-ups with corporates, competitive insurer packages, and efforts to grow medical tourism beyond traditional catchments, while maintaining strict cost controls.

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In June 2025, insurer Great Eastern temporarily suspended pre-authorisation certificates for IHH Healthcare’s Mount Elizabeth hospitals, citing higher costs compared to other private hospitals. Dr Nair noted that a “continued strategic execution of organisation-wide transformation initiatives” will support the group’s target of achieving double-digit return on equity by 2028.

Earlier this month, IHH Healthcare announced a partnership with Oracle to consolidate its finance, human resources and supply chain systems in a single artificial intelligence-enabled cloud platform. In April, the group said that it would ramp up its use of AI in operations and clinical care at Mount Elizabeth Hospital. Shares of IHH Healthcare closed flat at S$2.91 on Tuesday, before the results were announced.