Raffles Medical Q3 profit down 16.9% on Chongqing hospital startup costs

RAFFLES Medical's net profit for the third quarter was 16.9 per cent lower at S$13.6 million versus S$16.4 million a year ago as it continues to absorb the startup costs for its Chongqing hospital.

For the three months ended Sept 30, earnings per share was 0.75 Singapore cent, down from 0.91 cent.

Revenue rose 7.8 per cent to S$130.5 million from about S$121 million for the year-ago period following a 9.5 per cent increase in healthcare services revenue, and 7 per cent increase in hospital services revenue.

Increase in healthcare services was due to Raffles Medical securing more insurance contracts and corporate clients, while growth in revenue from hospital services was contributed by increased patient load, the group said.

No dividend was declared for the quarter, unchanged from a year ago.

The integrated healthcare provider previously declared a 13.7 per cent and 15.6 per cent drop in net profit for Q1 and Q2 respectively, attributing the lower profits to startup costs for its RafflesHospital Chongqing.

The group said it has a healthy cash position of S$116.9 million as at Sept 30, 2019 due to strong operating cash flows generated from the business operations.

"The current financial period's results are in line with the directors' expectations as disclosed in the group's Q2 2019 results announcement," it added.

"Based on the current conditions and barring unforeseen circumstances, the group is expected to remain profitable in 2019 despite gestation losses for RafflesHospital Chongqing."

Mainboard-listed Raffles Medical's shares closed unchanged at S$1.00 on Friday, before the long Deepavali weekend.