Spire Healthcare swings to profit as revenues grow

(Sharecast News) - Spire Healthcare said on Thursday that it swung to a profit in 2019 as revenue grew, but the private hospital operator warned that the coronavirus outbreak was "creating uncertainty".
In the year to the end of December 2019, the company swung to a pre-tax profit of ?9.6m from a loss of ?5.6m the year before as revenue rose 5.3% to ?980.8m. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation were up 1.8% at ?189m.

Spire said all payor groups experienced revenue growth in the year, including 7% growth in private medical insurance, continuing the trend seen in the first half. Private revenues, comprising both PMI and self-pay, grew 5.8% during the year.

It said that while the NHS remains a "challenging" market, the company was able to deliver revenue growth of 5% in the year, reversing the 7.2% drop seen in 2018, through a combination of mix and tariff.

Chief executive officer Justin Ash said: "PMI delivered a record performance, and there is encouraging momentum in self-pay. NHS revenue also accelerated in the second half of the year, partly as a result of opening new service lines to meet the changing needs of local Commissioners, in addition to new contracts, including the provision of more complex treatments.

"These were a good set of results, meeting our key financial and quality targets. Spire now has a solid platform for growth, and we look forward to the future with confidence."

The company said 2020 was progressing in line with its expectations. However, it cautioned that the COVID-19 outbreak is "creating uncertainty".

"The nature and scale of any potential impact is dependent on the course of the disease, which cannot be predicted accurately at this time," it said, adding that it is actively managing the situation on a daily basis and following Public Health England guidelines.

At 1300 GMT, the shares were up 1.5% at 112p.