OUE LIPPO Healthcare : 5WA 0% on Monday (Feb 27) reported a net loss of S$4 million for the second half of 2022, widening the loss of S$2.5 million incurred in the comparable period in 2021. 

The red ink came despite its topline rising to S$77.2 million from S$10 million.

The company attributed the rise primarily to the consolidation of First Reit and the Medical Partners, as well as higher revenue from its Wuxi Lippo Xi Nan hospital and the China pharmaceutical distribution business on the back of the provision of Covid-related services and higher demand for medical supplies. 

Cost of sales also rose in tandem with higher revenue, to S$15.1 million from S$2.9 million. 

OUE Lippo Healthcare was notably in a negative working capital position as at end-December last year, with net current liabilities amounting to S$21.5 million. 

The company said this was due chiefly to shareholder loans and accrued interest totalling to about S$1.9 million, as well as provisions for legal and related costs of about S$20.7 million. 

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The board of directors said the group is able to meet its debt obligations as and when they are due, after having assessed the sources of liquidity, the available cash reserves and operating cash flows of the group. 

Even as the world emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic, OUE Lippo Healthcare said it is important that it remains agile in response to the resurgence of Covid-19 risks, high inflation, rising interest rates, and tensions in the geopolitical landscape. 

For Singapore, the company said the country is moving towards a patient-centred preventive healthcare model post-pandemic as the Ministry of Health’s Healthier SG reform takes shape. 

“The national shift towards preventive care from reactive care will also drive healthcare innovations that will translate into new business opportunities for private healthcare players,” it said. 

In China, OUE Lippo Healthcare said the easing of border restrictions and lifting of most pandemic controls from December 2022 mark a significant step in the full reopening of the country. 

The group said its two hospitals in China continue to make progress towards being commissioned according to plan. One of the hospitals is expected to be commissioned in 2023, and the other in 2024. 

Shares of OUE Lippo Healthcare fell 3.9 per cent or S$0.001 to S$0.025 on Monday.