Patient counts, revenues rise at new entrant Mediclinic

FTSE 100 private healthcare group Mediclinic International reported continued patient growth across all of its operating platforms in the 11 months to the end of February on Thursday, with an associated rise in revenues.

In the company’s first trading update on the benchmark, it reported revenues of ZAR 12.26bn (£0.57bn) in South Africa, CHF 1.49bn (£1.08bn) in Switzerland and AED 1.4bn (£0.27bn) in the United Arab Emirates - which Mediclinic’s board claimed were all increases on the previous period.

It reported patient bed days as rising 3.6% in South Africa, 4% in Switzerland and 5.9% in the UAE. Outpatient, and accident and emergency patient attendance grew by 3.7% in the Emirates.

The company also highlighted the completion of the combination of Mediclinic and Al Noor Hospitals on 15 February, and the acquisition of 19.9% of Spire Healthcare Group occurring during the period.

Mediclinic’s net debt at year end was expected to be below £1.65bn.

"This is Mediclinic's first trading update following our entry into the FTSE 100. We are pleased to announce trading for the 11 months to the end of February has been in line with management's expectations,” said Mediclinic chief executive officer Danie Meintjes.

“The group continues to deliver against its key performance indicators with growth in patient activity across all platforms at stable margins. With the Al Noor transaction completing on 15 February, we are now focused on the smooth integration of the business,” he added.

Meintjes said he expected the increase in demand for cost-effective hospital services across all of its platforms to continue leading to further volume growth and increasing clinical complexity.

He explained that each platform was facing different challenges, and all had specific opportunities, but - in line with industry trends - Mediclinic was seeing the impact of ongoing regulatory initiatives and increasing competition on its businesses.

“We strive to differentiate ourselves from our peers in terms of our focus on patients, quality and safety,” Meintjes said.

“Leveraging on our group strength, our platform distribution and our combined knowledge will allow us to unlock further benefits for both patients and shareholders."

Mediclinic planned to announce its preliminary results for the financial year ending 31 March, on 25 May.