Private healthcare group Netcare has outlined plans to spend R1.6-billion on capital expenditure in the 2023 financial year, buoyed by the rescinding Covid-19 pandemic.
The company said of the R1.6-billion it has allocated towards capital expenditure, R111-million will be used to expand its mental health offering while about R600-million will go towards refurbishments of its facilities that were delayed during the pandemic. Another R185-million will go to strategic projects.
The group has been reshuffling its decks over the past few months. In April, it commissioned the 427-bed Netcare Alberton Hospital, saying the facility is trading at occupancy levels of more than 80%.
In May, the group opened the 36-bed Netcare Akeso Richards Bay mental health facility as part of its focus on improving asset utilisation. Three smaller hospitals – Netcare Ceres (28 beds), Netcare Bougainville (60 beds) and Netcare Optiklin (14 beds) were closed and are in the process of being sold.
Netcare, which is valued at just over R20-billion, reported revenue growth of 3% to R21.6-billion in the year to September. It also reported that adjusted headline earnings per share rose 23.4% to 83.2 cents, while normalised operating profit increased 13.2% to R2.2-billion, “helped by the relaxation of the national lockdown regulations” in the second half of the financial year under review.
Netcare CEO Richard Friedland said the group has not experienced further Covid-19-related disruptions since the fourth wave subsided and ended the financial year on a strong note, with activity in September being ahead of or in line with pre-pandemic 2019 levels across all segments.
“We are encouraged by the continuous improvement in the post-Covid-19 environment experienced to date. We have made substantial progress in executing our digitisation strategy and have successfully launched additional innovative solutions that promote access to affordable healthcare for the employed, but uninsured market,” he said.
“As part of our consistency of care strategy, we continue to broaden our measurement of clinical outcomes and patient experience to ensure we deliver on our core purpose of providing the best and safest care to our patients.”
The group, which operates through a number of subsidiaries and employs just over 21 000 people, also announced the appointment of Ian Kirk and Louisa Stephens as independent non-executive directors with effect from January.
The company said Stephens will also be joining the audit and remuneration committees.
Netcare further announced the retirement of David Kneale with effect from the conclusion of the upcoming annual general meeting set for February.
Friedland said the group is poised to deliver more value for shareholders in the new financial year.
“Notwithstanding the fluid macroeconomic environment, our strategy remains more relevant than ever. We remain committed to realising growth opportunities, improving returns and the successful completion and delivery of our key strategic projects that are critical to achieving our overarching strategy of person-centred health and care that is digitally enabled and data driven,” Friedland said.
For more business news from Sunday World, click here.
Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa. To Subscribe to Sunday World, click here
