Al Noor Hospitals, the Abu Dhabi healthcare firm which raised $342 million from a London listing in June, said total profit for the first half of the year fell 24.4 per cent, posting its first financial results as a publicly traded company.

The oil-rich emirate's largest private healthcare provider reported a total profit of $24.8 million for the first-half of the year compared with $32.8 million for the same period last year, Al Noor said in a statement on Tuesday.

Underlying profit for the period, which excludes marketing costs associated with its London listing, rose to $34.1 million, compared with $32.8 million for the same period last year.

The group recorded total revenue of $161.9 million during the period as against $179.5 million of the first half of 2012, marking a rise of 10.9 per cent.

After listing on the London Stock Exchange in June, raising primary proceeds of $150 million, the company repaid all outstanding loans. Its net cash position of at the end of the period was $88 million.

In the first six months of 2013, the company saw outpatient volumes rise from 768,009 to 843,375, a 9.8 per cent increase, while inpatient volumes increased by 18.7 per cent from 17,280 to 20,516.

The number of revenue-generating doctors also went up by 45, a 12.9 per cent increase.

The company commissioned three new medical centres at Mamura in Abu Dhabi, Sanaya in Al Ain and Muscat in Oman, bringing the total number of centres to 10.

“Following a successful listing, I am pleased to announce that our first results as a public company have shown strong growth. We operate in one of the fastest growing sectors in the Gulf region due to a rapidly ageing demographic, an increasing incidence of lifestyle-related medical conditions such as diabetes and obesity, and service gaps in the current healthcare market,” said Dr Kassem Alom, CEO, Al Noor Hospitals Group.

“Our growth strategy will continue to focus on meeting the strong demand driven by these three factors.

“Trading in the second half of the year has begun in line with management expectations. We remain on track to deliver strong growth through our physician hiring programme and the opening of two more Medical Centres. As a result, we are looking forward to the future with considerable confidence,” he added.

Outlook

“Al Noor is performing in line with our expectations, and we are on track to achieve our objectives for 2013,” Dr Alom continued.

“We continue to pay special attention to physician recruitment and licensing, and we are on course to open two additional medical centres in the second half of the year.

“We operate in one of the fastest growing sectors in the Gulf region due to a rapidly ageing demographic, an increasing incidence of lifestyle-related medical conditions such as diabetes and obesity, and service gaps in the current healthcare market. Our growth strategy will continue to focus on meeting the strong demand driven by these three factors,” Dr Alom concluded.

Al Noor Hospitals Group provides primary, secondary and tertiary care in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the wider region through its portfolio of hospitals and medical centres. As of June 30, the company had 227 operational beds and 504 physicians. – TradeArabia News Service

Al Noor has the biggest market share among private health-care services providers in Abu Dhabi for both outpatients and inpatient, according to the company. The listing had valued the company $1 billion. – Reuters & TradeArabia News Service