Press Release

Interim Report for the First Six Months of 2017:Corporate Focus on the Implementation of the Campus Concept and Digitalisation - Agreement in Separate Accounting offers new prospects for UKGM - After Ratification EBITDA for 2017 expected at the upper end of the estimated range 

- 422,950 patients treated

- Revenues stand at Euro 598.4 million

- EBITDA is at Euro 50.2 million

- Outlook for 2017: Revenues between Euro 1.20 billion and Euro 1.23 billion,  EBITDA between Euro 85 million and Euro 105 million

Bad Neustadt / Saale, 3rd August 2017 

In the first six months of 2017 a total of 422,950 patients were treated in the RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG hospitals at the five different sites. Revenues stood at Euro 598.4 million with earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) at Euro 50.2 million. 

Outlook

For the current financial year 2017 the Company expects revenues of between Euro 1.20 billion to Euro 1.23 billion. This is particularly adversely affected by the latest regulatory legislation, such as lower remuneration for special orthopaedic and cardiological services or the recently introduced discount for lower overheads in the area of additional services.

The Company expects EBITDA of between Euro 85 million and Euro 105 million for 2017. This includes negative effects in a low two-digit million figure for the corporate restructuring which was commenced at the beginning of the year and other imminent investments in the area of digital transformation. RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG currently assumes that the agreement in separate accounting for the university hospital in Giessen and Marburg (Universitätsklinikum Giessen und Marburg GmbH - UKGM) will be legally ratified in the second half of 2017. In that case, we expect EBITDA to be within the upper half of the range. 

Improved Operative Performance

Raising profitability has the highest priority for the Company. A significant contribution is made here by the agreement in separate accounting which the Federal State of Hesse and the two universities in Giessen and Marburg achieved in May 2017. "The agreement is a ground-breaking success. We create both legal and investment certainty for our two largest sites which will not only affect the medical capability of both university hospitals and therefore benefit our patients but will also have a marked improvement in our operative results and will thus secure the existing jobs at UKGM," CEO Stephan Holzinger stated.

Specific measures to raise profitability have also been commenced at a group level: "We are improving our cooperation with the Medical Review Board of the Statutory Health Insurance Funds (Medizinischer Dienst der Krankenversicherungen - MDK) to reduce bad debts, reviewing and improving maintenance and service agreements and establishing effective personnel controlling to deploy our employees in the best possible manner and to be able to exploit better the resources available to us," Holzinger continued. In the medium term the Company will establish a treatment strategy for all sites and assess the medical performance of each hospital in order to develop individual tailor-made medical services for the respective patient structure. This will place each hospital in a better position on the market as well as reduce duplicate services.

Focus on Campus Concept and Digitalisation

"RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG faces challenging tasks: apart from improving the operative performance of the corporate group we must also take the opportunity which medical digitalisation offers," Holzinger stated. "We are convinced that we have the right strategy with our campus concept which will link the different medical services across all the various sectors. With our campus concept we are a pioneer in providing modern and high-quality healthcare in rural areas." Digitalisation will play a central role here. Already today many processes in our hospital group are linked by innovative IT technology, such as WebEPA⁺, our system for electronic patient records; physicians and therapists are connected in the treatment process by our IT system. The use of cognitive IT solutions will significantly grow in importance. The hospital group is taking account of these challenges and staking its leadership claim by setting up a new position for "Digital Transformation". 

******************************************************************

RHÖN‐KLINIKUM AG is one of the largest healthcare providers in Germany. At five medical sites with a total of 5,400 beds we offer cutting-edge medical care with a direct link to universities and research institutes. Our top five key areas of treatment are cardiological and coronary disease, neurological disorders, oncology, lung diseases as well as orthopaedic and accident surgery. A total of approx. 16,500 employees work for RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG. Our facilities are located in Bad Berka, Bad Neustadt/Saale, Frankfurt (Oder) and Giessen and Marburg.

Further information is available at: www.rhoen-klinikum-ag.com 

Your Contact Persons:

RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG

Achim StruchholzGroup Division Head of Corporate CommunicationSchlossplatz 197616 Bad Neustadt / SaaleTelephone: + 49 - 9771 65-1327Facsimile: + 49 - 9771 65-1820E-Mail: kommunikation(at)rhoen-klinikum-ag.comDr. Kai G. KlingerGroup Division Head of Investor Relations & Corporate FinanceSchlossplatz 197616 Bad Neustadt / SaaleTelephone: + 49 - 9771 65-1318Facsimile: + 49 - 9771 99-1736E-Mail: ir(at)rhoen-klinikum-ag.com