MOVEMENT restrictions and safe-distancing measures amid the coronavirus pandemic depressed Thomson Medical Group's revenue for the six months ended June 30, dragging the mainboard-listed group into the red for the period.

It posted a net loss of S$97.5 million for the second half of its fiscal year, reversing from the net profit of S$240,000 in the year-ago period, the private provider of healthcare services for women and children said in results released on Thursday.

The company has changed its financial year-end from Dec 31 to June 30. The latest results thus cover an 18-month period from Jan 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020.

Loss per share stood at 0.369 Singapore cent for the six months ended June, versus earnings per share of 0.0001 cent in the corresponding period last year.

Revenue declined 12.3 per cent on the year to about S$98 million, from S$111.7 million previously.

Thomson Medical said its top line was affected by the movement restrictions and safe-distancing measures implemented by governments to curb Covid-19 transmission.

GET BT IN YOUR INBOX DAILY

Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.

Sign UpVIEW ALL

Revenue from hospital services decreased by 8.5 per cent, while revenue from specialised services fell 18.6 per cent for the six months.

This came as several services and satellite clinics in its Singapore business were operating under "significantly restricted" conditions, and in Malaysia, the patient loads at the hospital and fertility operations declined.

However, demand for obstetric services in Singapore continued to remain healthy, mitigating the impact, Thomson Medical said.

The group sank into a half-year operating loss of S$82.6 million, compared to an operating profit of about S$19 million in the previous year.

Excluding the effect of a one-off non-cash impairment recorded on the 9.2 hectare freehold land located in the Iskandar Development Region in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, the group would have recorded an operating profit of S$10.8 million.

The S$93.4 million impairment on the land was driven in part by the political uncertainty in Malaysia and the weak property market in recent years, which was exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, Thomson Medical said.

No dividend was declared because the company was loss-making. In the year-ago period, a final dividend of 0.025 cent per share was declared.

For the 18 months ended June 30, net loss amounted to almost S$97 million, while revenue totalled S$327.8 million.

With Singapore and Malaysia's restrictions gradually easing from June, the group has seen a gradual recovery of patient volumes across most segments, having resumed operations of healthcare services that were closed or operating under restricted conditions earlier.

Thomson Medical shares dropped 0.2 Singapore cent or 3.6 per cent to close at 5.4 cents on Thursday, before the results were released.