KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 29): IHH Healthcare Bhd’s (KL:IHH) second quarter net profit more than doubled from a year earlier, driven by strong operational performance and the positive impact of deferred tax credits.

Net profit for the three months ended June 30, 2024 (2QFY2024) rose to RM623 million from RM301 million, according to the group’s bourse filing on Thursday.

Revenue climbed 30.36% to RM6.09 billion from RM4.67 billion on sustained patient volume growth and taking on more acute, complex cases across all markets.

IHH’s profit after tax and minority interest (Patmi), excluding exceptional items, rose 39% year-on-year to RM437 million. Excluding the effects of MFRS 129, which pertains to financial reporting in hyperinflationary economies relating to the group's entities in Turkey, IHH’s Patmi for the quarter increased 42%.

IHH announced an interim dividend of 4.5 sen per share, which will be paid on Oct 30.

The private healthcare services provider paid a record total dividend of 18.6 sen per share for FY2023, including a special dividend of 9.6 sen distributed at the end of June 2023, following the divestment of International Medical University (IMU).

IHH expressed confidence in its growth trajectory and said it aims to add nearly 4,000 new beds over the next five years.

“Overall, the group expects continued revenue growth fuelled by healthcare megatrends, and will focus on driving profitability and sustaining healthy return on equity, while maintaining prudent capital management and mitigating inflationary and interest rates pressures,” the group said in a statement.

For the first half ended June 30 (1HFY2024), IHH’s net profit fell 17.79% to RM1.39 billion from RM1.69 billion in the same period a year earlier (1HFY2023), primarily due to the high base last year, which included one-off gains of RM862 million from the sale of IMU.

Half-year revenue grew 22.74% to RM12.05 billion from RM9.82 billion, driven by sustained improvements in patient volumes and revenue intensity across all markets.

IHH shares closed two sen or 0.32% lower at RM6.29 on Thursday, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM55.4 billion.