• Q1 – Q3 2008
  1.24 million patients / revenues of € 1.59 billion / net consolidated profit of € 89.2 million 
  EBITDA € 192.5 million / EBIT € 126.9 million
• Q3 2008
  408,155 patients / revenues of € 536.1 million / net consolidated profit of € 27.2 million 
  EBITDA € 63.9 million / EBIT € 40.7 million
• Stable growth in patient numbers in the first nine months (+ 6.6%).
• Growth in revenue of 4.9% and rise in operating earnings of 4.3% in line with expectations
• Forecast for full-year 2008 reaffirmed: 
  Revenues of € 2.1 billion, earnings of € 123 million

Bad Neustadt a.d.Saale, 30 October 2008 ----- The listed hospital group RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG today published its results for Q3 2008 and the cumulative result for the first nine months of 2008.

In the period January through September 2008, a total of 1.24 million patients were treated by the hospitals of RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG, with the third quarter accounting for 408,155 patients.

Over the first nine months, revenues rose by 4.9% to reach € 1.59 billion. The € 73.8 million increase was driven by first-time consolidations, growth in the outpatient area and for the most part by organic growth. In the third quarter, revenues of € 536.1 million were generated.

Net consolidated profit rose during the first nine months of the financial year by 2.6% to € 89.2 million, with the third quarter contributing € 27.2 million.

EBITDA rose during the first nine months by 2.3% to € 192.5 million, and for the third quarter the figure was € 63.9 million.

EBIT rose during the first nine months by 3.4% to € 126.9 million, and was € 40.7 million in the third quarter.

Operating cash flow grew by 11.1% to € 156.4 million in the first nine months, and rose to € 52.3 million in the third quarter.

After deducting minority interests in profit of € 4.0 million, net consolidated profit in the first nine months translates into an EPS of € 0.82 compared with € 0.80 in the same period last year.

The Group currently has 47 hospitals with 14,684 beds at a total of 36 sites in 9 federal states. Within our hospital network, 33,046 persons were employed as at the reporting date. 

The Board of Management of RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG makes a positive assessment of the result for the first nine months of financial year 2008: “We have succeeded in expanding our operative performance despite special burdens from legislation and rising costs of personnel and materials, which is why we reaffirm our forecast for financial year 2008”, said Wolfgang Pföhler, Chairman of the Board of Management of RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG. 

“The results are in line with our targets”, reports Dietmar Pawlik, CFO of RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG, “our growth trend is partly overshadowed by a disproportionate rise in costs. For the fourth quarter of 2008 we expect the positive trend in service volumes to continue, resulting in further earnings increases.

“We are convinced that we will succeed in further raising our market share through organic and external growth in the acute inpatient and outpatient areas. We want to strengthen integration between the inpatient and outpatient areas. In our assessment, this structural transformation is vital to securing high-quality and affordable healthcare for all patients on a sustained basis in future also”, Wolfgang Pföhler stated.