Singapore Medical Group has announced revenue of $24.8 million for the 1QFY2021, making this the group’s all-time quarterly high.
The quarter’s revenue represents a 7.6% y-o-y growth from the corresponding period the year before.
The higher topline was mainly attributed to an increase in the group’s Diagnostic & Aesthetics business segment, which saw a surge in demand for aesthetics, LASIK and diagnostic imaging related services.
In addition, the group reported a 22.2% y-o-y increase in net profit for the 1QFY2021 to a record $3.8 million, 22.6% higher than net profit of $3.1 million in the 1QFY2020.
The group’s core business operations continued to generate strong positive operating cash flows amounting to $3.9 million while maintaining a healthy cash balance of $26.5 million as at March 31.
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“While the group was impacted by the significant decline in medical tourism, we have a diversified business model and we were able to take advantage of structural shifts in demand,” says the group’s executive director and CEO Dr. Beng Teck Liang.
“For example, we were well placed to benefit from the surge in demand for diagnostic and aesthetic related services. While the outlook for medical tourism remains uncertain, we expect domestic demand for diagnostics and aesthetics to continue rising and we are well poised to capture opportunities for growth within these verticals,” he adds.
On the reintroduction of stricter Covid-19 measures, the group says its operations will continue to remain fully operational with the relevant enhanced safe management practices and social distancing measures.
However, it adds that it continues to be impacted by the lack of medical tourism, which has historically accounted for around 15% to 20% of the group’s revenue.
Looking ahead, the group says it is looking to strengthen its position within the women’s and children’s space through the hiring of new O&G specialists and paediatricians in addition to opening new clinics to further strengthen the group’s hub and spoke model.
In Vietnam, the group’s 26%-owned entity CityClinic Asia Investments continues to gain traction with rising patient loads amid increasing demand for specialist healthcare in the country.
The group’s 40%-owned joint venture entity, PT Ciputra SMG in Indonesia, reported significant increases in revenue and profitability for the 1QFY2021 following the newly opened eye centre in Surabaya in August 2020.
In Australia, the group's partnership with CHA Healthcare and City Fertility, one of Australia’s largest IVF & fertility service groups garnered “significant momentum” during the quarter. With a 13% effective stake in the joint venture, the group benefited from rising patient volumes while revenue and profitability increased substantially for 1QFY2021.
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As a result, the group reported the first turnaround of its share of results of joint venture entities and associates amounting to $0.2 million for 1QFY2021 as compared to a loss of $12,000 in the year before.
Shares in SMG closed 0.5 cent lower or 1.6% down at 31 cents on May 10.
