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- Ramsay Health Care (RHC) has withdrawn its earnings guidance for the 2020 financial year due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
- Some countries have expedited or suspended elective and non-urgent surgeries, while others are considering similar options
- Ramsay is moving to assist governments with managing the virus, saying all health providers must work together to deliver the best care to patients
- Specific details of the extent of this support – including volume, case-mix and reimbursement – are still being finalised
- RHC says its staff are at the frontline of the fight against COVID-19 and it’s doing everything it can to support them and recognise this contribution
- Ramsay Health Care is down slightly – a 0.74 per cent drop leaving the share price at $59.13 apiece
Ramsay Health Care (RHC) has announced the withdrawal of its earnings guidance for the 2020 financial year due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As the company’s hospitals around the globe move to assist governments with managing the virus, and given the uncertainties around the eventual impacts of the disease, company management has had no choice but to retract the earnings advice.
Group Managing Director Craig McNally says, “While we face the unknown in terms of the extent of the impact of COVID-19, it is vital that all health providers work together during this time to deliver the best care and treatment to patients within our communities.”
“The rapid spread of COVID-19 in Europe has resulted in decisions to defer surgery in some regions as governments seek extraordinary support from private operators such as Ramsay to deal with capacity requirements … Specific details of the extent of this support including volume, casemix and reimbursement are still being finalised,” Craig explained.
A number of countries have already chosen to defer elective and non-urgent surgeries, and others are considering similar moves. The company says its Australian hospitals are willing to assist the public health sector in each jurisdiction, to ease the surgical burden on the public health system, undertake urgent and elective surgery, and cater for COVID-19 patients if required.
Mr McNally adds, “Ramsay and our facilities right across the world are ready and willing to assist at this time of crisis. Our hospitals are well-prepared to manage the impacts of COVID-19. We have strict infection control and prevention protocols in place to protect our staff and healthcare workers. These measures are enabling us to continue to provide world-class care and treatment to patients.”
“In addition to country-specific COVID-19 response teams, we have a global COVID-19 response team to keep up to date with the evolution of the outbreak and to continually monitor the impact on our business, our staff and supply chains,” he continued.
“[RHC] has headroom in its existing debt facilities, the earliest of which is not set to expire until October 2022 … We are taking steps to ensure the health and safety of our employees during this time. While some of our staff can work from home, the largest number of Ramsay’s staff have valuable experience and are making incredible contributions to this pandemic at the frontline and we are doing everything we can to support them and recognise this contribution,” Craig concluded.
Ramsay Health Care is down slightly on the market today, a 0.74 per cent drop leaving the share price at $59.13 as at 1:40 pm AEDT.
