Ramsay Health Care said demand from private patients was continuing to grow in the UK as it narrowed its loss in the second half of the year after the failed Spire Healthcare takeover.
In its full year results the group posted an earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) loss of A$26.2m (£15.4m) in the UK.
This compared with a loss of A$35.6m (£19m) in the UK in the group’s results for the six months to 31 December 2021.
UK EBIT was wiped out by transaction costs of A$26.2m (£15.4m) associated with the group’s failed deal to acquire Spire Healthcare as well as its successful acquisition of mental health care provider Elysium.
The group noted that its Elysium acquisition at the end of the year contributed revenue of A$284.3m (£167.7m) and EBIT of $23.1m (£13.6m) during Ramsay’s five month period of ownership.
The group’s acute hospital inpatient admissions increased 16.9% and day patient admissions increased 4.2% reflecting the more significant impact on activity of the pandemic.
However it noted a resurgent market for private healthcare from patients.
“Demand from private patients continued to grow as a percentage of total admissions,” it said.
Higher labour costs
The group said it was also adversely affected by a number of issues including isolation orders affecting the availability of patients, doctors and employees at short notice resulting in material procedure cancellations and significantly higher personnel costs.
It estimated the impact of the additional costs of operating in a Covid environment was A$56m (£33m) over the period.
Its UK businesses were affected by significant inflationary pressures resulting in increased labour costs.
The period also saw the group open the Buckshaw day surgery hospital in Chorley in October, its third new hospital facility opened during the pandemic.
Profits down
Overall the group statutory profit was down 39% year-on-year to A$274m (£161.6m) with group EBIT also down 21.3% to A$891.3m (£525.9m).
In Europe EBIT rose 11.5% to A$450.2m (£265.6m) but in Asia-Pacific it fell 26.5% to A$467.3m (£275.7m).
Craig McNally, CEO and managing director of Ramsay Health Care, said: “FY22 proved again the resilience of Ramsay’s people and business in the face of further severe disruption from Covid.
“I would like to thank our people and partners for continuing to work with us to support our patients, navigating the difficult operating environment while transitioning to the next phase of the pandemic.
“We have maintained our focus on the group’s medium to long term strategy continuing to invest to optimise our world class hospital network for future demand while entering into new and adjacent services.
“A key focus over the next few years is the recruitment and retention of our workforce. We are investing in our people to develop the leadership that will enable us to be successful well into the future.”