KUALA LUMPUR (May 20): Sunway Healthcare Holdings Bhd (KL:SUNMED), whose shares were valued at a price-earnings ratio of 100 times shortly after its debut, announced a 14% drop in net profit to RM33.33 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026 (1QFY2026) amid higher operating costs associated with capacity expansion and initial public offering (IPO)-related expenses.
Quarterly revenue, however, grew 23.8% to RM587.05 million from RM474.05 million a year ago. Earnings per share declined to 0.29 sen from 0.34 sen previously, according to the group’s bourse filing.
The group said revenue growth was supported by higher patient volumes, expanded licensed bed capacity and stronger contributions from newly operational hospitals including Sunway Medical Centre Damansara and Sunway Medical Centre Ipoh.
Foreign patient revenue surged 47.3% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM86.6 million from RM58.8 million, driven mainly by higher inflow of patients from Indonesia, China and Cambodia.
Inpatient admissions rose 15% to 28,936, while revenue per inpatient admission increased 10% to RM12,458.
Hospital operations remained the group’s main earnings contributor, generating RM576.82 million in revenue and RM44.01 million in profit before tax during the quarter.
The “others” segment, which includes senior living, ambulatory care, traditional and complementary medicine, and healthcare support services, posted revenue of RM10.23 million and a loss before tax of RM100,000.
Sunway Healthcare said total licensed beds increased 22% y-o-y to 1,805 beds, while total bed capacity stood at 1,982 beds as at March 31, 2026.
The group declared and paid an interim single-tier dividend of 8.24 sen per share amounting to RM100 million on Feb 4, 2026, as well as a 0.3 sen per share dividend amounting to RM5.24 million to Greenwood Capital Pte Ltd on March 19, 2026.
Looking ahead, Sunway Healthcare said it remains cautiously optimistic for FY2026, supported by resilient demand for private healthcare services, ongoing capacity expansion and medical tourism growth, while remaining mindful of geopolitical-related cost pressures and supply chain disruptions.
As at the latest practicable date, the group had 1,855 licensed beds and total capacity of 2,072 beds, with further expansion planned through Tower F at Sunway Medical Centre Sunway City and brownfield expansion projects at Sunway Medical Centre Damansara and Penang.
The group expects total bed capacity to increase to approximately 2,400 beds by 2028.
Sunway Healthcare's share price has retreated from its peak of RM2.37 in late March to RM1.84 on Wednesday, valuing the medical group at RM21.16 billion.
Nonetheless, since its listing on March 18, the counter has gained 26.9% against its IPO price of RM1.45.