-3x Short China Regulatory News (SCHE)

7 Jul 2008 07:00



Southern Cross Healthcare Group PLC

Response to Press Comment

Monday, 7 July 2008 - Southern Cross Healthcare Group PLC (LSE: SCHE) ('Southern Cross', the 'Group' or the 'Company') notes the contents of an article in The Times on Saturday 5 July and wishes to clarify the current occupancy rates across the Group.

Southern Cross currently operates 731 mature and immature (less than 12 months old) homes, containing a total of 37,027 available beds. Those homes currently care for 33,270 residents, which represents an average occupancy rate of 89.8%.

In addition, the Company runs a total of three homes under management contracts and one home due for divestment which currently care for 87 residents plus three purpose built day care centres currently with 97 service users. 

Southern Cross currently has a total of 33,454 residents and service users, the highest number ever cared for within the homes and day centres operated by the Group. 

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About Southern Cross

Southern Cross is, in terms of number of beds, the largest UK provider of care home services for the elderly and a major provider of specialist services for people with physical and/or learning disabilities. The Company's care homes for the elderly operate under two distinct brands: Southern Cross Healthcare and Ashbourne Senior Living. Both brands provide a range of social and personal care services and nursing care services for elderly people with physical frailties and differing forms of dementia. The Company's specialist services operate under the Active Care Partnerships brand and provide long-term care services for people with physical and/or learning disabilities and for younger people with complex forms of challenging behaviour.

Southern Cross is focused on providing high quality care in well invested facilities, seeking to be the home of choice in each local community in which it operates. The Company provides care services for most of the local authorities in the UK which, together with the NHS, represent over circa 70% of the Company's revenues. Its care home portfolio is largely purpose-built with a high percentage of single occupancy rooms and rooms with ensuite bathrooms. Occupancy levels in its core elderly segment are consistently in excess of 90%.

This announcement includes statements that are, or may deemed to be, "forward looking statements". These forward looking statements can be identified by the use of forward looking terminology, including the terms "believes", "estimates", "plans", "projects", "anticipates", "expects", "intends", "may", "will", or " should" or, in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology. These forward looking statements include matters that are not historical facts and include statements regarding the Company's intentions, beliefs or current expectations concerning, among other things, the Company's results of operations, financial condition, liquidity, prospects, growth, strategies and the outlook on the care home industry. By their nature, forward looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to future events and circumstances.