This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on April 24, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR: TMC Life Sciences Bhd, which saw a near 20% rise in net profit for the first half of the current financial year, is confident of reporting higher earnings for the full year on the back of an increase in the hospital occupancy rate.

Its chief executive officer, Wan Nadiah Wan Mohd Abdullah Yaakob, said the integrated healthcare provider’s strategy of providing tertiary medical services since last year is also expected to contribute to the better financial performance.

The group yesterday reported a 30.38% rise in net profit for the second quarter ended Feb 28, 2019 (2QFY19) to RM6.21 million, from RM4.76 million a year ago.

Quarterly revenue rose 13.72% to RM45.16 million, from RM39.71 million previously, which the group attributed to a higher patient load and the handling of a higher complexity of cases.

Cumulative six months net profit rose 19.72% to RM13.28 million from RM11.09 million a year ago, with revenue expanding 13.37% to RM92.32 million from RM81.44 million.

TMC’s financial performance in the first half has always been weaker than the second half due to seasonal factors like Chinese New Year, TMC chief financial officer Jimmy Wong Yu Chee said at a media briefing on the group’s financial results.

Wan Nadiah, meanwhile, said further improvements in the results are expected as the group introduces more tertiary medical services to further drive its growth, including in the areas of oncology, cardiology and infertility treatment.

“Our hospital business [at Tropicana Hospital in Kota Damansara] is quite stable and the occupancy rate is reaching the maximum. We are seeing the peak in terms of performance for hospital, thus we will need to add tertiary medical services [to drive the group’s growth],” she said.

In the past year, the group has added a range of tertiary medical services including haematology, cardiothoracic surgery, intensive care and bariatric surgery, she added.

On the expansion of Tropicana Hospital, Wan Nadiah said the project is on track to be completed by next year. The expansion plan will see the current capacity of 205 beds triple to 600, making it one of the largest private hospitals in the Klang Valley.

As for the construction of the Thomson Iskandar Medical Hub in Johor Baru, she said piling work has commenced and the project is scheduled to be completed in the 1Q 2024.