Thomson Medical Group A50 1.67% has announced that the percentage of its shares held by public shareholders had been reduced to 9.98% as at the close of business on Sept 11.

 

As the percentage of shares held by the public falls below the requisite 10% of the total number of issued shares under Rule 723 of SGX-ST&rsquo s listing manual, the trading of its shares may be suspended.

 

The company intends to apply to SGX-ST for a period of three months for it to restore the public float to 10%.

 

HEALTHCARE provider Thomson Medical Group : A50 +1.75% (TMG) reported a 66.7 per cent drop in net profit to S$13.8 million for its second half ended Jun 30, 2023, from S$41.3 million in the same period a year ago.

 

Revenue for the half-year fell 8.8 per cent to S$171.8 million, from S$188.3 million. This was mainly due to lower income received from project-related services as a result of the closure of vaccination centres, the group said in a filing on Monday (Aug 28).

 

But the decrease was partially offset by the higher average bill sizes in Singapore, it noted. It added that in Malaysia, revenue has continued to improve due to higher patient loads attributed to the increased operating capacity at Thomson Hospital Kota Damansara, as well as higher case intensity being handled.

 

Other income dropped 32.2 per cent to S$3.3 million for H2 2023, down from S$4.9 million the year before. The group attributed the decrease to lower government grants received under the Jobs Support Scheme and property tax rebates granted by the government.

 

Other operating expenses rose 18 per cent to S$42.1 million for the half-year, up from S$35.7 million in the same period the year before. The increase was due to higher legal and professional fees incurred for potential acquisition and higher operating costs for the new expansion wing at Thomson Hospital Kota Damansara, the group said.

 

Earnings per share stood at 0.052 Singapore cent for the period, down from 0.156 Singapore cent a year ago.

 

For the full year ended Jun 30, net profit was down 32 per cent to S$36.6 million. Revenue slipped 6.6 per cent to S$355.8 million.

 

Earnings per share stood at 0.138 Singapore cents, down from 0.203 Singapore cents a year ago.

 

The board has declared a dividend of 0.04 Singapore cent per share for FY2023, compared with 0.115 Singapore cent per share in the year-ago period. Books closure will be announced at a later date.

 

Melvin Heng, TMG&rsquo s executive director and group chief executive officer, said that with the Covid-19 pandemic &ldquo transitioning to an endemic phase&rdquo , the group continues to see increased patient loads in both its Singapore and Malaysian operations, particularly in fertility services and paediatric medicine.

 

He added that the group remains focused on its plans to expand and enhance its medical centres and clinics in Singapore, including a multi-year asset enhancement initiative of its flagship hospital in the city.

 

Meanwhile, the expanded operating capacity at Thomson Hospital Kota Damansara has also already started contributing to group revenue, he noted.

 

The latest tranche of notes will be consolidated with S$120 million worth of existing notes to form a single series.  

 

THOMSON Medical Group has issued S$30 million worth of notes that mature in 2028 at 5.5 per cent interest.

 

The notes will be consolidated with some S$120 million worth of existing notes due in 2028 &ndash which were issued on May 31 &ndash to form a single series. They are part of the group&rsquo s S$1 billion multi-currency debt-issuance programme, which was established on Jun 28, 2019, and updated on Apr 21 this year.

 

Interest is payable semi-annually in arrears. The notes will mature five years from May 31, 2023.

 

Net proceeds from the issue of these notes will be used for general corporate purposes, Thomson Medical said. This includes the refinancing of borrowings, financing potential acquisitions, strategic expansions, general working capital, capital expenditure and other investments.

 

UOB has been appointed as the sole dealer for this tranche of notes, which is expected to be listed on the Singapore Exchange on Jul 21.