Asklepios: Revenue growth in first quarter of 2019
• Consolidated revenue increases to EUR 875.6 million
• Number of patients up 4.3% at 607,054
• Investments increased by 23% to EUR 62.6 million
Asklepios Kliniken GmbH & Co. KGaA started off the current financial year with an increase in revenue in the first quarter of 2019. This was based on rising numbers of patients. By contrast, consolidated net income (EAT) recorded a decline. Asklepios is maintaining its forecast for 2019 as a whole for now and will drive the planned growth with targeted investments.
In the period from January to March 2019, the Asklepios Group treated a total of 607,054 patients, 4.3% more than in the same period of the previous year (3M 2018: 582,186). Revenue in the first quarter of 2019 was up 3.3% year-on-year at EUR 875.6 million (3M 2018: EUR 847.4 million). The cost of materials ratio came to 21.2% (3M 2018: 21.5%). The staff costs ratio rose to 67.4% (3M 2018: 66.5%). Overall, consolidated net income (EAT) for the period from January to March 2019 amounted to EUR 13.3 million (3M 2018: EUR 28.9 million).
“In view of the major challenges on the hospital market, we need to enhance our business model on a long-term basis. We are therefore digitalising our processes and services, tapping new markets and expanding our revenue base,” says Kai Hankeln, CEO of the Asklepios Group. “With our recently presented digitalisation strategy ‘Digital HealthyNear’, we are now significantly speeding up the pace of implementation again. Asklepios can thus keep growing sustainably and profitably even in a chronically underfunded healthcare system.”
In the first quarter of 2019, Asklepios invested a total of EUR 62.6 million, including subsidies (3M 2018: EUR 50.7 million). The share of own funds came to 75.2% (3M 2018: 68.5%). “By 2024, we will invest more than a billion euros in our hospital network, with roughly half of this going on digitalisation,” explains Hafid Rifi, CFO of the Asklepios Group. “These investments will give Asklepios an edge in the digital healthcare industry of the future. The cash flow this requires forms the basis for our investments. However, we are not satisfied with this development in the first quarter.”
The Asklepios Group has a stable financial position. Its net debt amounted to EUR 1,086.0 million as at 31 March 2019 (31 December 2018: EUR 1,027.0 million). The ratio of net debt to EBITDA for the past 12 months was 2.7x (31 December 2018: 2.6x). Cash funds amounted to EUR 281.4 million (31 December 2018: EUR 351.6 million) and unused credit facilities totalled EUR 450.6 million. As such, Asklepios can continue to expand its corporate growth on the basis of sufficient financial resources.
About Asklepios
Asklepios Kliniken is one of the leading private operators of hospitals and healthcare facilities in Germany. The hospital group stands for highly qualified care for its patients, with a clear commitment to medical quality, innovation and social responsibility. On this basis, Asklepios has developed dynamically since it was founded almost 40 years ago. The Group now has more than 164 healthcare facilities across Germany, including acute care hospitals for all levels of care, university hospitals, specialist clinics, psychiatric and forensic facilities, rehabilitation clinics, nursing homes and medical centres. Around 3.5 million patients were treated at the Asklepios Group’s facilities in the 2023 financial year. The company has over 68,000 employees.
