With demand for private healthcare remaining consistent, Netcare has said it remains on track to deliver its full-year guidance, with total paid patient days (PPD) having increased and with mental health PPDs also having risen in the year to date, reports Business Day.
The group said in a voluntary update last week that total PPD grew about 1.6% in the year to end-September, while acute PPD increased about 0.8%.
It added that the operating environment had been affected by interventions by medical schemes to strengthen their solvency positions, which included benefit changes, downgrading scheme options to lower-cost preferred provider network options and tighter managed healthcare protocols, which affected activity levels across the acute hospital portfolio.
Acute activity strengthened in the second half of the year, supported by ongoing capacity optimisation initiatives, including the conversion and commissioning of an additional 20 beds in the acute care unit.
In the 2026 financial year, the average number of beds in use in the acute hospital portfolio decreased from a year ago, primarily due to the period that beds were out of commission for renovations and the conversion of beds into higher-acuity disciplines.
As a result, full-year acute occupancy is expected to improve to 66% from 65% a year ago, driven by the reduced beds in use and increased activity.
The group anticipates mental health PPD to rise by about 8.2%, while full-year occupancy is expected to improve to about 72.7% from 70.3%.
Netcare expects its second-half financial performance to exceed that of the first half, with revenue in the Hospital and Emergency Services segment expected to increase by 4.2% for the full year.
The previous year’s non-renewal of a large occupational healthcare contract affected reported revenue growth in the Primary Care segment and a 6.9% decline in revenue for financial year 2026, but excluding the effect of this contract, underlying revenue in the segment was expected to go up by about 5.8%.
For the first half, Netcare reported a 12% increase in profit to R924m, while revenue grew 4.8% to R13.3bn, driven by operational efficiencies and returns on its digital and AI investments.
In May, it revised its guidance for its expected growth in total PPDs for the year to 1.1%-1.8%. Revenue growth was guided at 4%-4.8%.
Netcare will release its full-year results on 23 November
Business Day article – Netcare on track for full-year guidance amid rising demand (Restricted access
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Netcare: Interim results for the six months ended 31 March 2021