Revenues at Bon Secours private hospital group grow to €478m as €11m impairment results in €4.77m loss

Hospital directors say increase in turnover was driven by a significant increase in both inpatient and outpatient activity

The new €213m Bon Secours Hospital in Limerick.

Revenues at the private hospital group, Bon Secours, which has recently opened a new €213m hospital in Limerick, last year climbed by 10% to €478.88m.

New accounts filed by Bon Secours Health System Company Ltd show despite the increase in revenues, the group recorded a pre-tax loss of €4.77m, largely as a result of a non-cash asset impairment cost of €10.33m.

The pre-tax loss of €4.77m followed a pre-tax profit of €10.12m in 2023.

Bon Secours new 170-bed hospital at Ballysimon on the outskirts of Limerick City, which opened last month, is the first new acute hospital built in Ireland in nearly two decades, and represents one of the largest healthcare investments ever made in the Mid-West region.

Already, Bon Secours operates acute hospital facilities located in Cork, Dublin, Galway, Limerick and Tralee.

On the development of the €213m new hospital in Limerick, the directors say construction of the hospital was within budget and will greatly expand services currently offered to patients in the Mid-West.

They say the existing BSHS hospital site at Barringtons, George’s Quay will be sold.

In their report, the directors say turnover increased by €43.8m to €478.8m, driven by a significant increase in both inpatient and outpatient activity.

They say the group recorded an operating loss of €1.8m, driven by fixed asset impairments in addition to increased medical consumables and drug costs.

The group generated €25.26m in cash from operating activities.

Profits were also hit by staff costs increasing by 17%, from €204.26m to €238.32m, as numbers employed increased by 271 from 4,025 to 4,296.

The pay to key management personnel increased from €3.25m to €3.43m.

Directors’ fees declined from €119,000 to €68,000, and a note says with the publication of the Charities (Amendment) Act 2024, the company ceased all payments to directors from July 1, 2024.

The loss last year takes account of non-cash depreciation costs of €15.8m, non cash amortisation costs of €1.19m, an impairment loss of €3.3m from trader debtors along with interest costs of €5.1m.

The group’s operating lease costs last year totalled €5.82m.

At the end of December last, shareholder funds totalled €171.365m, that included accumulated profits of €111.62m.

During the year, the group made contributions to charitable community causes amounting to €541,833.

The group has charitable tax status and is not liable to corporation tax.

BSHS is part of the Bon Secours Mercy Health (BSMH) Group based in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.