Asklepios makes successful start to 2016 financial year

The Asklepios Group can look back at a successful first quarter of 2016. All of the Group’s key figures were improved again compared to the previous year. The number of patients treated in the first three months of 2016 increased by 2.5 % or more than 14,000 patients year on year to around 573,000.

Revenue in the Group’s 150 medical facilities climbed by 4.3 % year on year to a total of EUR 807.8 million. Asklepios increased its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) by 12.2 % to EUR 83.7 million. This corresponds to an EBITDA margin of 10.4 %, up 0.8 percentage points on the same quarter of the previous year. This positive development was attributable mainly to the less significant rise in costs. While the staff costs ratio remained largely stable year on year, the cost of materials ratio fell 0.8 percentage points to 21.5 %. Consolidated net income for the year climbed by 11.8 % to EUR 35.0 million. This corresponds to a return on sales of 4.3 %, as compared to 4.0 % in the same period of the previous year.

“We are constantly improving our extensive range of medical services and also continuously expanding it with tailored care services in high-demand medical fields. This targeted expansion of our high-performance medical centres – our centres of excellence – remains a focus for us this year,” says Kai Hankeln, CEO of Asklepios Kliniken GmbH. “We will also invest a significant nine-figure euro sum in our facilities in the 2016 financial year and are open to acquisitions along our value chain. We are confident that in this way we will ensure profitable and sustainable growth of our company in the long term,” adds Dr Thomas Wolfram, CEO of Asklepios Kliniken GmbH.

As of 31 March 2016, equity amounted to approximately EUR 1.2 billion. The equity ratio of 34.9 % was slightly higher than the previous year’s level of 34.7 %. The debt ratio was improved year on year to 1.5 times EBITDA (31 December 2015: 1.6 times EBITDA). In the first three months of 2016, Asklepios invested EUR 30.6 million in its existing hospitals and the expansion of its centres of excellence. The investments were financed entirely from operating cash flow, which totalled EUR 60.1 million as at 31 March 2016.

“Under the recently launched unscheduled repayment programme, we have encouragingly been able to repay a high eight-figure euro sum in existing bilateral loans early in recent months. This was done with the clear goal of dissolving structural subordination, optimising the cost of capital and demonstrating uniform, transparent financing structures at Group level,” says Hafid Rifi, CFO of Asklepios Kliniken GmbH.

Outlook confirmed

On the basis of the good business development in the first three months of 2016, the management of the Asklepios Group is confirming its outlook for the 2016 financial year. It anticipates organic revenue growth of between 2.0 % and 3.5 % and a slight but sustainable increase in EBIT/EBITDA compared to the previous year.

About Asklepios

The healthcare group Asklepios Kliniken GmbH is among the leading private operators of hospitals and healthcare facilities in Germany. The hospital group stands for highly professional care of its patients with a clear commitment to medical quality, innovation and social responsibility. On this
basis, Asklepios has been developing dynamically ever since it was founded 30 years ago. The group currently has 150 healthcare facilities across Germany. Its facilities include acute hospitals providing all levels of care, specialist clinics, psychiatric and forensic facilities, rehabilitation clinics, nursing homes and medical centres. In the 2015 financial year, 2.3 million patients were treated in the Asklepios Group’s facilities. The company has approximately 46,000 employees.

The quarterly report for the first quarter of 2016 is available at www.asklepios.com/ir.