Hermitage Clinic records profit drop of 46 per cent
By Maurice Garvey
ACCOUNTS lodged for the Hermitage Clinic show that the business recorded a 46.5 per cent decline in pre-tax profits in spite of revenues increasing by 6 per cent, to €77.9m from €73.69m, in 2018.
Pre-tax profits almost halved in 2018 at the private hospital co-owned by businessmen, Larry Goodman and Sean Mulryan, John Flynn and Dr George Duffy, to €935,982.
Hermitage Clinic recorded a 46.5 per cent decline in pre-tax profits
Numbers employed at the 112-bed private hospital based at Lucan in west Dublin increased to 495 from 450, as staff costs went up to €26.7m from €25m.
According to the directors’ report for Torcross Ltd and subsidiaries, “growth in turnover was driven by a combination of volume growth across a number of specialities and some very modest price increases with health insurers, after 10 years of compounded discounting”.
The directors said challenges facing the business included inflationary pressures in both people costs and the medical supply chain, pricing negotiations with health insurers, a lack of customer understanding of excesses and co-payments, and the ongoing challenges of recruiting and retaining the best people.
A factor behind the drop-in pre-tax profits was non-cash depreciation costs increasing to €5.4m from €4.3m.
The directors said the business had received €39.25m in funding from shareholders since the firm commenced.
They said plans for the next two years include replacement of key modalities and technologies, and “further expansion of capacity in both inpatient and outpatient areas to support targeted growth in key specialities”.
TAGS Business
