Netcare Ltd, Africa's third-biggest private hospital group, posted a 12 percent rise in half-year profit on Monday, helped by a strong performance in South Africa and favourable currency swings.
Netcare, which also runs hospitals in Britain, said diluted headline earnings per share totalled 52.1 cents in the six months to end-March compared with 46.5 cents a year earlier.
While demand for private healthcare has increased in South Africa thanks to a fast-growing middle class, stalling economic growth in Britain has blunted self-funded treatments and led to a drop in the number of people with private medical insurance.
Netcare, which maintained a dividend payout of 22 cents per share, said revenue grew 11 percent to 12.6 billion rand ($1.56 billion), with currency swings adding another 630 million rand.
Shares in the company are up about 4 percent so far this year, under-performing closest rivals Life Healthcare and Mediclinic, whose shares are up 30 percent and 13 percent respectively. - Reuters