KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 26): IHH Healthcare Bhd's fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2020 (4QFY20) net profit ballooned just over 10 times to RM419.36 million from RM40.63 million a year prior.

In a bourse filing, the hospital operator said its bottom line earnings were boosted by government grants and relief and higher revaluation gains from its 37.5% owned Parkway Life Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) of RM19.7 million from the RM11.4 million in 4QFY19. It noted lower finance costs also helped with its bottom line.

Parkway Life REIT had acquired a nursing home in Japan for RM64.2 million, resulting in the higher value of its investment properties.

IHH declared a first and final dividend of four sen per share, which is payable on April 30. It also declared a dividend of four sen per share in 4QFY19.

On its quarterly revenue, it dropped by 2% at RM3.77 billion, from RM3.84 billion a year prior.

From a quarter-on-quarter perspective, IHH saw its net profit increase 35.3% from the RM309.95 million posted in 3QFY20. Its quarterly revenue also increased by 7% from RM3.52 billion in 3QFY20.

However, for the full financial year, IHH's net profit declined by 47.62% to RM288.88 million, from RM551.48 million. Its revenue for FY20 also declined 10% to RM13.4 billion, from RM14.91 billion a year prior.

In a separate statement, chief executive officer and managing director Dr Kelvin Loh said its focus on operational efficiencies, increasing bed occupancy and revenue intensity, along with tight cost controls continues to bear fruit.

"As we are navigating the challenges of the pandemic, we stay disciplined in delivering our Refreshed Strategy through extracting synergies from our international network to drive sustainable earnings growth.

"We are on track to double our ROE in five years despite the impact of Covid-19. To ensure we meet our goals, we have set a clear strategy for each market to grow efficiently and improve care for our patients. Furthermore, we will continue to build on our strong foundation of trust to ensure long-term sustainability.

"In the year ahead, IHH's diversified operations give us earnings resilience despite ongoing shorter-term challenges from the pandemic. The fight against Covid-19 has not been won yet, and our priority is to continue working hand in glove with the public healthcare systems to win this war, whether with vaccinations or any other care needed," Loh said.

Shares in IHH closed 0.2% or a sen lower at RM5.08, valuing it at RM44.59 billion. It saw 7.03 million shares done.