KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 20): Integrated private healthcare provider Sunway Healthcare Holdings Bhd's (KL:SUNMED) second-quarter net profit surged 88.9% from a year earlier, driven by higher patient volumes and record revenue as demand for its hospital services strengthened.

Net profit rose to RM78.16 million in the three months ended June 30, 2026 (2QFY2026) from RM41.39 million a year earlier. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation for the quarter increased 43% year-on-year (y-o-y), partly offset by higher depreciation expenses related to its ongoing capacity expansion.

Earnings per share rose to 0.68 sen from 0.36 sen.

Revenue for 2QFY2026 jumped 29.8% to a record RM672.9 million from RM518.58 million a year earlier, on higher hospital operations revenue which rose 29% y-o-y. No dividend was declared for the latest quarter.

In a bourse filing on Thursday, Sunway Healthcare said the group’s overall bed occupancy rate improved to 73% from 67% a year earlier. Inpatient admissions in the hospital operations segment increased 19% to 32,599, while revenue per inpatient admission rose 8% to RM12,515.

Foreign-patient revenue grew 31%, led by higher inflows from Indonesia, China and Cambodia, despite ongoing geopolitical uncertainties. Local-patient revenue also rose 30%, underscoring continued demand across the group's domestic and international patient base.

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, net profit more than doubled, rising 134.5% from RM33.3 million in the first quarter, while revenue increased 14.6% from RM587.1 million.

No dividend was proposed for the current quarter.

The 2QFY2026 results strengthened the group’s performance for the cumulative six-month period (1HFY2026). Net profit increased 39.1% to RM111.5 million from RM80.14 million a year earlier, while revenue rose 26.9% to RM1.26 billion from RM992.62 million.

Sunway Healthcare had 2,271 beds. The group expects progressive licensing and operationalisation of completed capacity to lift total beds to 2,400 by 2028.

The company said it will continue with its brownfield and greenfield expansion plans, backed by a strong financial position following its listing on Bursa Malaysia's Main Market on March 18.

"The group continues to progress its planned greenfield hospitals in Seremban Sentral, Iskandar Puteri and Putrajaya. These developments form part of the group’s longer-term strategy to expand its geographical reach and increase the combined capacity of its hospital network to more than 3,400 beds by 2032," it added.

Sunway Healthcare shares closed three sen or 1.45% higher at RM2.10 on Thursday, valuing the company at about RM24.16 billion. The stock has gained 13.5% since its listing.