RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG / AGM/EGM/DividendRelease of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a company of EquityStoryAG.The issuer / publisher is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG, Bad Neustadt/Saale- Annual General Meeting - 2006: Revenues € 1.9 billion / net consolidated profit € 109.1 million /investments € 393.6 million / operating cash flow € 165.0 million /earnings € 2.03 per ordinary share / shareholders’ equity according to IFRS€ 728.7 million / 1.4 million patient treatments / 30,409 employees /dividend: 50 euro cents per ordinary share 2007: First quarter – revenues of € 502.0 million / net consolidated profit€ 25.2 million / earnings per share € 0.46 / operating cash flow € 45.9million / investments € 31.5 million / 388,882 patient treatments / 31,426employees Outlook: Forecast for 2007 confirmed: Revenues of € 2.0 billion and netconsolidated profit of € 102 million / qualified growth applying soundbusiness judgment / development of promising future-oriented concepts,strategies and technologies for further long-term growth in value Bad Neustadt a.d. Saale/Frankfurt am Main, 31 May 2007 ----- At today’sAnnual General Meeting of the listed hospital group Rhön-Klinikum, thefigures of the past financial year played only a subordinate role: the mostimportant key figures for 2006 had already been presented and discussed atthis year’s Results Press Conference on 19 April 2007, and the results ofthe first quarter were published on 3 May 2007. The 2006 Annual Report aswell as the quarterly report for the first quarter of 2007 are posted onthe Internet at www.rhoen-klinikum-ag.com.2006: Revenues were lifted 36.5% to € 1.933 billion (previous year: € 1.416billion); net consolidated profit rose by 23.5% to reach € 109.1 million(previous year: € 88.3 million); earnings per ordinary share stood at €2.03 (previous year: € 1.61); shareholders’ equity according to IFRS was €728.7 million (previous year: € 641.5 million); operating cash flowrecorded growth of 6% – not including the one-off cash effect (amendment ofSection 37 (5) Corporation Tax Act) – to reach € 165.0 million (previousyear: € 155.6 million). A total of 1,394,035 patients (+46.8%; previousyear: 949,376) were treated in the 45 hospitals belonging to RHÖN-KLINIKUMGroup at year-end.Q1 -2007: Revenues rose by 10.6% to € 502.0 million (Q1 previous year: €453.8 million); net consolidated profit recorded a slightlydisproportionate rise of 11.0% to reach € 25.2 million (Q1 of previousyear: € 22.7 million); earnings per ordinary share stood at € 0.46 (Q1 ofprevious year: € 0.42 adjusted; + 11.1%); operating cash flow amounted to €45.9 million (Q1 of previous year: € 38.9 million); in the first threemonths of 2007 the Group’s hospitals treated 388,882 patients (Q1 ofprevious year: 313,774); as at the reporting date, the Group employed atotal of 31,426 persons (31 December 2006: 30,409).On the whole, the Board of Management was pleased with both the results for2006 and with Q1 2007. 'We have met our goals for revenues and profit andhave once again revealed the efficiency and performance of the Group’shospitals as well as our expertise in the acquisition, integration andrestructuring of hospitals', stated Wolfgang Pföhler, chairman of the Boardof Management of RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG. 'Thanks to this positive businessperformance, the Board of Management and the Supervisory Board jointlypropose to the Annual General Meeting an increase in the dividend from 45to 50 euro cents per share. The strong start into 2007 makes us optimistic.For full-year 2007 we are shooting for revenues of 2 billion euros and netconsolidated profit of 102 million euros.'Looking back at financial year 2006, Pföhler particularly emphasised thebolstered competence in the management of university hospitals. In hisstatements he stressed that 'a company with the breadth and depth of outputsuch as RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG laying claim to being the trendsetter in thehealthcare sector cannot succeed long-term without tapping into the flow ofmedical innovations'. For this reason the Group, already in the early 90s,seized the opportunity to acquire the university hospital HerzzentrumLeipzig. Since the newly constructed facility opened its doors in 1994, theCompany as private operator took over the hospital care activities fromfour medical professor chairs. 'In the current research report of theUniversity of Leipzig, the four professor chairs of the Herzzentrum are topranked in the overall rating of scientific research results in clinicalmedicine. In my view this clearly shows that good healthcare and goodscience are not contradictory but are mutually interdependent'.The many years of expertise acquired as the operator of a universityhospital had been used by the Group to broaden access to clinical researchand the transfer of knowledge to healthcare. This had proved successfulwith the takeover of Gießen/Marburg – the first-ever completely privatiseduniversity hospital in Germany.'We are pleased with what has been achieved after 16 months', Pföhler said:• 'We have successfully privatised both university hospitals and integratedthem into the Group without a fuss.• We have restructured and rationalised the facilities, and have begun togradually clear up the investment backlog, investing more than 50 millioneuros in 2006.• Patient numbers last year rose by three per cent. We have gained thetrust of the population.• We have halved the loss for the year from 15 million euros to 7.5 millioneuros. In the first quarter of 2007 we nearly achieved break-even. We areconvinced that we will succeed in returning Gießen/Marburg to sustainedprofit this year.'The chairman of the Board of Management then dealt with two fundamentalissues:1. Why do economics and good medicine belong together&#632. What are the core elements of our growth strategy&#63Remark: The following contains an excerpt of the main considerations; theentire presentation will be published shortly on the homepage ofRHÖN-KLINIKUM AG – www.rhoen-klinikum-ag.com.Re 1) Good medicine and economics are not a contradiction, but are mutuallyinterdependent. This is confirmed by the many years’ of growth thatRHÖN-KLINIKUM AG has achieved as a private hospital operator and leader ofthe sector.Economically viable and innovative healthcare models are becomingincreasingly important for preserving the high level of care for allpatients, whether under statutory or private health insurance.'We do not want the state’s underfunded, substandard medical care. Tocounter 'insidious' rationing we aim for visible rationalisation andinnovation, thus following the logic of 'more performance throughcompetition'.It is increasingly the case that economic behaviour is becoming the basisfor achieving socially desirable effects – such as a high standard ofhealthcare remaining affordable for everyone on a sustained basis.'Efficiency and innovation are part of our approach', Pföhler said, andexplained in detail four concepts of RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG. These are:• Rationalisation through the flow principle• Intelligent division of labour – The New Professional Model for Doctors• Innovations in healthcare delivery, as well as• Innovative co-payment models Re 2) Growth strategy: With the current strength of the economy, taxrevenues are on the rise and the state is again planning more generousexpenditures. This is enabling municipalities and local government toprovide funding to moribund facilities in order to offset their losses. Bygiving such guarantees and subsidies, change within this economic sector isbeing paralysed. It is therefore also unsurprising to see the catchword'public-private partnership' (PPP) being increasingly slipped into thediscussion on the future of public hospitals.Pföhler stressed he is convinced that PPP will change nothing in theinsufficient profitability of many public hospitals. He said he wastherefore certain this was nothing but a passing fashion. For him there isno real alternative to the hospital 'company' when it comes to therestructuring and modernisation of public hospitals. 'It is only when thebest management concepts are competed for that viable and efficientfoundations are created for hospitals. Here, privatisation is the idealsolution. In our acquisition strategy the focus of interest of ourmulti-stage regional care concepts is on the expansion of our corecompetence, that is the management of acute hospitals.We are not aiming for growth at any price. What we want is qualifiedgrowth. Of decisive importance for us is that as the operator of thehospital we are handed full entrepreneurial responsibility anddecision-making competence. It is only then that we can swiftly takesuitable restructuring measures, i.e. create new department structures,optimise clinical processes and conclude performance-oriented in-house wageagreements with profit participating components for staff.' One tool that will revolutionise medical care is the EPF (electronicpatient file) co-developed by the Group. The purpose of the electronicpatient file is to allow for staff or, as the case may be, the system toimmediately recognise the patient and the patient’s history upon admission– even if the patient arrives at this hospital for the first time withoutany documents. The patient file then serves as a kind of tool for guidingthe clinical treatment process. It is the patient’s virtual escort throughthe hospital. Following the already successful trial phase in Saxony, theEPF will be introduced at the Group’s hospitals over the next few years.DGAP 31.05.2007 
 Language: EnglishIssuer: RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG Schlossplatz 1 97616 Bad Neustadt a.d.Saale DeutschlandPhone: +49 (0)9771 - 65-0Fax: +49 (0)9771 - 97 467E-mail: fire.ir@rhoen-klinikum-ag.comwww: www.rhoen-klinikum-ag.comISIN: DE0007042301WKN: 704230Indices: MDAXListed: Amtlicher Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard), München; Freiverkehr in Berlin-Bremen, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Stuttgart End of News DGAP News-Service