Hospital group Netcare said CEO Richard Friedland will remain at the helm of the business for a further six months beyond his original September 2024 departure date, as the preferred replacement candidate is “unavailable for an extended period”, reports BusinessLIVE.
“Given that the candidate is unavailable for an extended period, details will remain confidential,” said the company on Monday.
In July, it was announced that Friedland would be retiring early, after almost two decades as the CEO of the private hospital operator.
He has been at Netcare for about three decades, including 18 years as CEO, during which the group built five flagship hospitals, founded business units such as Netcare 911, and turned its focus to the digitisation of healthcare, which includes electronic patient records, scripts, blood and other pathology test results and radiology results, expected to be completed in April.
In the 2023 financial year, revenue increased 9.5% to R23.7bn and operating profit lifted 19% to R2.7bn.
Total occupancy improved 4.1 percentage points to 64.4% and paid patient days (PPDs) 6.7%.
“Although there has been limited growth in medical scheme membership, the pool of covered lives remains resilient and underscores the sustainable demand for quality private healthcare, which is exacerbated by the growing disease burden and ageing insured population,” the company said in a statement.
“Notwithstanding the fluid economic environment, we expect ongoing improvements in the operational and financial performance of the business in the 2024 financial year and beyond,” Friedland said.
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