Acurity sees improvement in 1H earnings on cost-cutting measures

Monday 14th October 2013

Acurity Health Group, the private hospital group formerly known as Wakefield Health, boosted underlying earnings by as much as 23 percent as it managed to strip out costs faster than its revenue declined.

The Wellington-based company says its underlying earnings were between $3.3 million and $3.5 million in the six months ended Sept. 30, up by between 17 percent and 23 percent from a year earlier. Net profit was between $3.9 million and $4.1 million, with a "significant component" coming from a revaluation of interest rate swaps. The company reported first-half net profit of $2.4 million in 2012.

"The group's revenue for the first six months of the year is down slightly on the corresponding period for the previous year but continuing focus on expenses has resulted in the improvement in the underlying net earnings," it said in a statement.

Acurity's biggest shareholders, the Stewart family and Royston Hospital Trust Board, took control of the company in September last year, pooling their investments into a joint vehicle called Medusa.

The shares rose 2.3 percent to $4.02 today, having shed 21 percent this year.

The full results and dividend declaration will be announced on Nov. 4.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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