Declining patient numbers at Life Healthcare saw the company’s share price drop by double digits last week, with the change being linked to the loss of Sizwe Hosmed, whose patients it was no longer, accepting, reports Business Day.
In a trading update, the second largest private hospital group in the country said patient days in the six months to end March fell by about 0.4%, and that it had been affected by a R130m revenue hit after Sizwe Hosmed was placed under curatorship in September last year.
Valued at about R16bn on the JSE, Life Healthcare operates 48 hospital facilities in Southern Africa, as well as mental health, oncology, rehabilitation and dialysis facilities.
It booked about R12bn in revenue for the first half of its 2025 year, but still expects between 2.2% and 2.6% interim revenue growth in 2026.
This was “satisfactory”, it said, adding that without the loss of Sizwe Hosmed, paid patient days would have risen 0.9%.
Revenue per patient increased 4%, ahead of a 3.3% increase in average tariffs, helped by more surgical cases, while activity picked up further in the second quarter.
The group’s results have been complicated by, among other things, its disposal of radiopharmaceutical business Life Molecular Imaging in the previous year.
Business Day article – Life Healthcare crashes as patient numbers slip (Restricted access)
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Life Healthcare sells diagnostics business
Life Healthcare diversifying to counter global regulatory pressures
CMS wins bid to replace Sizwe Hosmed curator
Sizwe Hosmed in financial trouble as other schemes hike prices