Asklepios Group: Positive business performance in first quarter – Confident outlook for 2024

Asklepios Kliniken GmbH & Co. KGaA has enjoyed a solid economic performance in the first three months of the 2024 financial year. The Asklepios Group can report a positive development despite the ongoing uncertainty in the healthcare sector and global economic challenges.

Asklepios has further consolidated its role as a reliable healthcare partner: 919,532 patients in total were treated in the Asklepios Group’s healthcare facilities in the first three months of the 2024 financial year (3M 2023: 860,826). The number of inpatients was 196,297, 1.9% higher than in the previous year (3M 2023: 192,731), while the number of outpatients rose by 8.3% to 723,235 (3M 2023: 668,095).

Asklepios employed 50,272 full-time equivalents on average in the period from January to March (3M 2023: 49,393). This increase is as a result of strategic recruitment activities and the successful hiring of skilled workers from Germany and abroad.

Revenue increased by 5.4% year-on-year to EUR 1,414.5 million in the first quarter of 2024 (3M 2023: EUR 1,341.8 million). Staff costs rose by EUR 49.6 million as against the same period of the previous year to EUR 974.5 million as a result of pay increases and the growth in headcount. The staff costs ratio matched the previous year’s level at 68.9% (3M 2023: 68.9%). Consolidated net income (EAT) grew to EUR 18.5 million (3M 2023: EUR 9.2 million).

Marco Walker, CEO of Asklepios Kliniken, commented: “The satisfactory development in the first quarter of 2024 is a clear sign that we are well positioned despite the challenging situation in the German healthcare sector. Our long-term business strategy and the tireless efforts of our employees give us cause to be confident in our outlook for the remainder of the financial year.”

Joachim Gemmel, CEO of Asklepios Kliniken, said: “Our economic stability allows us to look forward with confidence to the far-reaching changes in the healthcare sector. At the same time, we are calling on politicians to create reliable and stable solutions for good healthcare with the upcoming hospital reform.”

Investments including subsidies amounted to EUR 67.4 million. (3M°2023: EUR 77.4 million).

Hafid Rifi, CFO of Asklepios Kliniken, said: “We are operating on a solid basis and are now setting the right course to further consolidate and expand our market position. Moving forward, we will continue to rely on a stable capital structure and long-term financing strategies.”

On the basis of its size and structure, the Asklepios Group is robustly positioned and can respond flexibly to changes, even in a volatile market environment. The upcoming hospital reform will define the 2024 financial year and shape the Group’s performance. In this context, Asklepios is continuing to campaign for the government to take swift and effective action to relieve the pressure on hospitals. The Group’s stated aim for the financial year is still to continuously increase its operating result and thus achieve greater economic flexibility for the expansion of first-class healthcare in Germany.