• Revenues up 3.9 per cent, consolidated profit climbs by nearly a quarter
• Strategic focus remains on campus approach for cross-sector healthcare delivery in rural areas and on the use of intelligent digital IT solutions
• Dr. Gunther K. Weiß joins Board of Management team; at the same time allocation of duties reorganised
   

Compared with the same period of the previous year, RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG succeeded in raising consolidated profit by nearly a quarter, with EBITDA and revenues also posting robust gains: over the first quarter of 2018 we treated a total of 216,602 patients (+ 2.1%) at our Group hospitals, generating revenues of 311.7 million (+ 3.9%), earnings before interest, tax and depreciation (EBITDA) of 27.6 million euros (+ 8.2%) as well as consolidated net profit from this of 10.4 million euros (+ 23.8%). This growth in quarterly profit does not yet include the positive effects from the successful agreement on separate accounting with the Federal State of Hesse and the two universities of Giessen and Marburg: here, the final prerequisite of the agreement reached in 2017 – the arm’s length comparison of the agreement by an auditor – is expected to be met within a few months.

“Our focused Group strategy – the cross-sector campus approach for excellent medical care in rural areas and the new widespread use of intelligent software in the medical, nursing and as well as administrative areas – continues to be the basis for our Company’s long-term success. We have made a good start into 2018, and expect significant growth in profits to continue. This also reflects our intensive efforts to tackle operative challenges from past years more consistently than in the past”, stated Stephan Holzinger, CEO of RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG.

Changes on the Board of Management

Dr. Gunther K. Weiß was appointed as a new member of the Board of Management by the Supervisory Board of RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG unanimously on the proposal of the chairman of the Board of Management with effect from 1 March 2018, whereas Dr. Dr. Martin Siebert was recalled from the Board of Management on 28 March 2018.

In his position as chief operating officer of the Board of Management (COO), Dr. Weiß continues to assume the management of Universitätsklinikum Gießen und Marburg (UKGM). As in the past, Professor Dr. Bernd Griewing, as chief medical officer on the Board of Management (CMO), will continue to be responsible for systematising medical quality at the hospitals, for the further development of the Medical Board as well as for innovative developments in cross-sector integrated medical care, digitalisation and telemedicine. The chairman of the Board of Management, Stephan Holzinger (CEO/CFO), will increasingly turn his attention to promoting the Company’s further strategic development, particularly as regards new business models and gradually rolling out the RHÖN campus approach to new sites.

Annual General Meeting on 6 June 2018

At this year’s Annual General Meeting on 6 June 2018 in Bad Neustadt a. d. Saale, the Board of Management and the Supervisory Board propose paying out of net distributable profit a dividend of 0.22 euros per ordinary non-par share. This translates into a payout ratio of roughly 40 per cent, which was already taken as a basis for the dividend payout in 2017. With this ratio, our Company safeguards the medium-term ability to fulfill its capex-needs yet also allows its shareholders to participate in the success of the company. Based on the current number of shares (roughly 66.9 million) that translates into a dividend total of around 14.7 million euros.

Outlook

For the current financial year 2018, we expect revenues of 1.24 billion euros within a range of plus or minus 5 per cent. Regulatory measures such as lower remuneration for services entailing high material cost intensity, particularly in the field of cardiology, or the fixed cost degression discount on surplus services, have to be taken into account as burdening factors. For earnings before interest, tax and depreciation/amortisation (EBITDA), we expect a much higher level compared with 2017 of between 117.5 million euros and 127.5 million euros – which in addition to other effects is favourably influenced by the agreement on separate accounting at UKGM.
 

Contact:
RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG | Corporate Communications
Telephone: +49 9771 65-1327 | E-Mail: kommunikation(at)rhoen-klinikum-ag.com