BUPA profits up

Private healthcare giant BUPA posted a rise in annual revenues and profits today.

The privately-owned company, which specialises in insurance, hospitals and care homes, said revenues rose 9% to £4.25bn (€6.2bn) in the year to December 31, while its pre-tax profits improved by 15% to £359.1m (€525m).

The group said it had continued to invest in winning NHS contracts and in August was appointed to the NHS Extended Choice Network (ECN) – a service that was set up to alleviate NHS waiting lists.

BUPA, which has 26 hospitals in the UK, was the first ECN provider to go live with the service, enabling NHS patients to opt for consultations and surgery at BUPA hospitals in England. The group did not provide a breakdown of figures for NHS work.

The company said its joint venture with Surrey and Sussex NHS Trust, the Redwood Diagnostic and Treatment Centre, treated 12,500 patients during the year, achieving high levels of patient satisfaction. Redwood is the first privately-operated treatment centre dedicated to NHS patients.

However, revenues at the group’s hospital division fell by 15% during the year to £449m (€656.3m) following the sale of the Blackrock Clinic in Dublin in March and nine smaller hospitals during 2005.

The group’s care homes division, which has 298 homes and about 20,500 beds, saw profits rise 27%, boosted by the acquisition of 44 ANS care homes in 2005. It said it plans to add 1,400 beds to the division by 2009.

BUPA said increased investment in corporate insurance helped drive growth at its UK insurance business with customer numbers up 2% to 4.4 million and revenues rising 7% to £1.84bn (€2.7bn).

At the same time, the group said it enjoyed a particularly strong performance at its international insurance business after its customer base grew by 9%.

The group’s non-UK businesses now account for 33% of revenues and 36% of operating profits, boosted by growth in the expatriate sector.

BUPA said its Middle East division saw customer numbers rise by 65% rise ahead of anticipated legislative changes to enforce compulsory health cover for expatriates.

Meanwhile, BUPA said the integration of its expatriate health insurance businesses acquired in 2005, Denmark-based IHI and US-based AMEDEX, had progressed ahead of expectations with customer numbers up by more than 11%.

As a provident, BUPA does not have shareholders and profits are ploughed back into patient care.

Chief executive Val Gooding said BUPA would continue to pursue revenues growth in the year ahead, but said that plans to increase investment in operating systems and business development would slow profits growth in 2007.

BUPA, established in 1947, has 8.1 million customers in 190 countries and employs 46,000 people.