KUALA LUMPUR (May 27): Hospital operator KPJ Healthcare Bhd’s (KL:KPJ) net profit for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024 (1QFY2024) rose 38.9% year-on-year (y-o-y), mainly attributed to higher patient numbers and the disposal of its aged care business in Australia, which resulted in the offloading of net liabilities of RM43.3 million.

Net profit for 1QFY2024 stood at RM71.40 million, compared with RM51.39 million in the same quarter in 2023, KPJ said in a Bursa Malaysia filing. Quarterly revenue went up by 11.4% y-o-y to RM908.02 million, from RM814.99 million, as patient numbers gained 3.4%.

In January, KPJ completed the A$24.2 million (RM74.9 million) sale of its Australian aged care business as part of its plan to place greater focus on its Malaysian segment.

The group also increased its bed capacity during the quarter under review to 3,693 beds versus 3,416 beds previously, resulting in bed occupancy slightly easing 5% to 65%, from 70%.

It declared a single-tier interim dividend of one sen per share, to be paid on July 5.

For the rest of FY2024, KPJ said it will continue its focus on asset optimisation, which includes maximising existing bed capacity and boosting performance of its hospitals.

"We are also developing new revenue streams, with particular investment going towards expanding our share for the health tourism market in Malaysia, which is expected to see considerable growth over the next few years," it said.

At Monday’s closing, KPJ was one sen or 0.50% lower at RM2, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM9.05 billion.