Singapore Medical Group net profit up 78.8% to S$15.6m in FY21

DESPITE disruptions to operations and diminishing medical tourism amid the pandemic, Catalist-listed Singapore Medical Group (SMG) on Tuesday (Feb 22) posted a 78.8 per cent rise in net profit to S$15.6 million for the full year ended Dec 31, 2021.

This was largely due to the increase in revenue and a S$1.5 million one-off gain from the remeasurement of previously held equity its joint venture, SMG International (Vietnam).

Revenue rose 15.5 per cent to S$100.8 million for the full year from S$87.3 million the year before. This was attributed to the rising demand across the group's health and diagnostic and aesthetics segments as well as organic growth at its existing clinics.

Executive director and chief executive Beng Teck Liang said that while the pandemic and absence of medical tourism had weighed on operations, the company was able to tap structural shifts in demand within key specialist verticals such as aesthetics.

This was thanks to the group's diversified nature in operations as well as the resilient domestic demand for their specialist healthcare services, he said.

Earnings per share for the full year stood at 3.23 Singapore cents, compared with 1.81 cents the previous year.

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Net asset value per share came in at 34.53 Singapore cents as at end-2021, versus 31.93 cents as at Dec 31, 2020.

The board of SMG had declared a final dividend of 0.65 Singapore cent per share and a special dividend of 0.25 cent per share.

SMG will be looking to strengthen its position in the women's and children's space through the hiring of new obstetrics and gynaecology specialists and paediatricians, as well as the opening of new clinics.

"Our focus remains on the suburban expansion of our specialist services in key verticals where we see strong demand," said Beng.

SMG's aesthetics segment has also seen "overwhelming demand".  SMG is thus also looking to capture opportunities for growth and further expand its footprint in the aesthetics market.

In a separate announcement on Tuesday, SMG said that it has appointed Mervyn Lim as chief operating officer of the company. He will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the group, including general clinic operations, marketing, information technology and human resources. Lim was previously vice-president at digital health solutions company ResMed Asia.

Shares of SMG ended Tuesday at S$0.32, down S$0.01 or 1.6 per cent.